
Class 

Book-ii Gsl9. 

Copyright N° 

CQWR1GUT DEPOSIT. 






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* 




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V 



THE 



PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



OP 



HENRY CLAY. 



EDITED BY 



•Jfc 



CALVIN COLT ON, LL.d. 

i 

PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC ECONOMY, TRINITY COLLEOE 




NEW YORK: 
A. S. BARNES & CO., 51 & 53 JOHN STREET. 

1856. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the rear 1856 

BY A. S. BAB NEB, & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court, of the Southern District of New York. 



■ 

■ ••! s ii. :-mii II, 
I 



PRINTED HV 

CI URGE »' H """. 

SI John Bl 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



PAIJR 



CORRESPONDENCE FROM 1801 TO 1815, 9 

CHAPTER II. 

CORRESPONDENCE FROM 1815 TO 1820, 49 



CHAPTER III. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1825 AND 1826, . . * 109 

\ 



CHAPTER IV. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1827, 156 

CHAPTER V. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1828, 188 

CHAPTER VI. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1829, 217 

CHAPTER VII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1830, 251 



IV CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1831 AND 1832, 






CHAPTER IX. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1833, 1834, AND 1835, 347 

CHAPTER X. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1836, 1837, 1838, AND 1839, .... 403 

CHAPTER XI. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1840, 1841, 1842, AND 1843, .... 443 

CHAPTER XII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1844, 1845, 1846, AND 1847, ... 483 

CHAPTER XIII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1848 AND 1849, . . 553 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1850, 1851, AND 1852, . . W 



TO THE READER 



Mr. Clay was not in the habit of keeping copies of his own let- 
ters. It may easily be imagined, therefore, that the time and trouble 
required to collect original and properly authenticated copies, so as 
to compose an epistolary history of his life, have not been inconsider- 
able. It is ten years since the editor of this volume commenced this 
task, with very important facilities afforded by Mr. Clay himself, as 
will appear from some of the correspondence. In addition to a very 
thorough examination of Mr. Clay's papers, under his own supervis- 
ion, in the winter of 1844-45, the editor, by permission of his family, 
made a new examination of all the papers at Ashland, in 185:5. From 
some three thousand documents, more or less, collected at Ashland 
and elsewhere, the editor has silted and shaken out the correspond- 
ence contained in this volume. For the first fifteen years of the 
present century, down to the treaty of Ghent, embraced in the first 
chapter, very few of Mr. Clay's letters could be obtained. From 
that period they begin to appear more abundantly, as will be seen. 
It was thought proper to introduce letters of the correspondents 
<»f Mr. Clay t<> some extent, especially those of distinguished pers 
and on occasions of especial interest. It was not possible general- 
ly to obtain the immediate counterparts of the correspondence. 

After having completed the •• Life and Times of Henry Clay." in 
two volumes, tirsl published in L 846, and having added, in L854, a 
chapter to the second volume of that work containing the last seven 
years of Mr. Clay's life, the plan of the editor of the present vol- 
ume has been t" present an epistolary history of the same period, 
and chiefly of the same things, as viewed by the parties in corre- 
spondence from their own closets, in their epistolary communications 
with each other, with no design <>n their part of furnishing materials 
for history. Most of these parties are since dead. It must be seen 
that Buch materials, from sueh hands, are of a very peculiar character, 
naturally attractive ami interesting: and some of them very instruct- 
ive. They can not but cast lighl on event-, in some cases very im- 
portant, which could not otherwise he fully understood. There is a 
truthfulness in the abandon of private correspondence which the 
cautiousness of politicians ami statesmen rarely betrays in their ordi- 
nary and public acts; or if they sometimes betray it. they do not 
avow and confess it. Not a little of such materials will be found in 
this volume. 

As the letters are generally presented in chronological order, with 
constantly recurring chasms of other parts of the correspondence, 
and without any regard to their relatious to each other, it is lor the 



yi TO THE EEADER. 

reader to connect them with history, as it may be found in the first 
two volumes of this work, and in other public records. Indeed, 
many facts of history will he found in this volume which can he found 
nowhere else; and some of them very interesting and important. 
Besides the new facts of history disclosed, much of this correspond- 
ence, very little of which was ever before published, will probably 
be felt and acknowledged as affording new and interesting light on a 
greal deal of history before known. It will serve, in some degree, 
as a key to unlock and open to view many intricate and obscure 
events of no small importance hitherto unexplained. 

Some will perhaps think there are too many letters in this volume 
of trivial import, and that some of the brief notes and others might 
as well have been omitted. But the editor has desired to present 
the entin ness of Mr. Clay's character, so far as correspondence would 
reveal it. more especially in those parts which, from the nature and 
character of his career, have been very little before the public. His 
character as a public man is public property. But Mr. Clay has 
made such a mark on his age and the history of his time, that the 
public wiE naturally be interested, and perhaps have some right, to 
know more of all his relations in life than his brilliant career as a 
public man has permitted them to observe. They will find in this 
correspondence that nothing in his private and domestic relations, 
ami in the minor details touching the interests of his own family, es- 
caped his care and attention, they will see that that fidelity and 
rigid conscientiousness which controlled all his conduct as a politician 
and state-man, were exemplified in a similar type, and in a degree as 
much more careful and anxious as the case required, in all his private 
and domestic relations. He not only hail a large family of the first 
generation, most of whom left the world before him, but he had nu- 
merous grandchildren. It is touching to observe the action of his 
parental feelings toward them all, according to their characters and 
conditions of health and comfort, as disclosed in this correspondence. 
An invalid granddaughter, Lucy, so often mentioned in his letters, 
was always a tender object of his solicitude. 

Mr. Clay was necessarily a politician, because he was forever in the 
whirl of politics. Mr. Clay, however, did not seek politics, but 
politics sought him, on account of his peculiar and eminent qualifica- 
tions for public life But this correspondence will show how often, 
and, doubtless sincerely, he desired repose from political agitations, 
and how much he was disgusted with unfair and dishonorable polit- 
ical strifes. Take him all in all, he was the most popular public man, 
so tar as his persona] qualities were concerned, that has ever appeared 
in the history of the country, and that from the beginning to the end 
of his career! It was the unavoidable destiny of such a man, that he 
should he abused by his political opponents, and carried on the 
shoulders of his political friends; and in the same proportion as the 
former feared, the latter loved him. We know not of how many it 
can he -aid. hut we fear of few ; yet it can he said of Mr. Clay, and 
all the world will believe it. that he was an honest, fair, and patriotic 

politician. lie never made a trade of politics, a- many of his cot em 

poraries did, and a- is generally the case now with those engaged in 
politics. Hi- country, and the good of his country, in his strife with 
his opponent-, were ever the ruling passion of his mind in all public 
affairs. His patriotism, true as the needle to the pole, will he more 



TO THE READER. VII 

and more apparent as the events which excited it recede in the dis- 
tance. Again and again, as a candidate for the highesl trusl in the 
nation, he sacrificed himself on the altar of his country, and of the 
principles which he adopted. " Be would rather be right," ot what 
he i hought was right, than be invested w ith the highesl official honors. 
That he was actuated by a laudable ambition fairly to gain eminence 
in hi> career, was doubtless an ingredient of his lofty aspirations ; 
bul his principles would nol bend for such an advantage. Who 'Iocs 
not know that his talents, and the charm of his character on the public 
mind, would have borne him to any place in the gift of the aation, if 
he had thrown himself on the popular current, in almost any of the 
exigences leading thai way which fell in his path? But he would 
never sacrifice a principle for his own personal advantage. If he 
hadhad less faith in public virtue, it would have made no difference; 
for he would never sacrifice self-respect for influence. He trusted, 
and was deceived : but he has acquired more fame in history by his 
course than could have been achieved in any other way. The most 
rigid scrutiny of his character leaves his name untarnished by a single 
act in all his political relations. 

That mill-stone on the neck of Mr. Clay's political history, the al- 
leged bargain between him and Mr. Adams, was indeed cut loose, 
thouu'h no't in time to save the victim from its disadvantages. The 
attempt at bargain, as since proved, was on the other side, and tail- 
ing in the proposed arrangement, the best way to rebul an accusation 
to which the other party was liable, was found to lie in bringing one 
of the same kind against Mr. Clay. Mr. Clay never believed that 
such an attack could answer its purpose. But it did. Several times 
Mr. Clay received proposals of such a bargain, more than one of 
which is revealed for the first time in this volume; and the lofty 
manliness and indignation with which he treated them is also shown. 
When proposed to make him President by a wrong to Mr. Webster, 
on condition that Mr. Clay would use his influence for a certain ap- 
pointment, though Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster were not at the time 
on the most friendly terms, Mr. Clay insisted that the proposal and 
its conditions should be made known to Mr. Webster, and. as will be 
seen, it was no fault of Mr. Clay that this was not don. . A si 
quent letter of Mr. Clay will indicate furth( r the estimate made by 
him of that transaction. No attempl on Mr. Clay's honor, as a poli- 
tician, ever succeeded. He lived and died an American patriot of 
the loftiest character. 

Forever cherished and followed by a great national party, and 
forced into the field* as a candidate for public services and public 
honors, it was reasonable to expect thai his correspondence will par- 
take of this character. Numerous as his friends were, with whom 
he communicated veryfrankly — for franknesswas a part of his nature 
— vet every man. and Mr. Clay was no exception, must have his 
bosom friends. Judge Brooke,* of Virginia, was a correspondent and 
at friend of Mi-. Clay for more than half a century, and there was 
no other man in the nation to whom Mr. Clay opened his heart and 
mind so fully and freehj on public and private' affairs. Hence the 
use .if this correspondence so largely in this volume. It always 
presents Mr. ( lay's mind and views a; tic dates of the :tive 

* Ju.lu r o Brooke and Francis Brooke, in the correspondence, an 



Yin TO THE READER. 

letters, and on the topics considered. It is a perfect abandon of 
private friendship and correspondence, and, on that account, is al- 
ways interesting and instructive. The Hon. J. S. Johnston, United 
States Senator from Louisiana, was also an habitual correspondent 
and bosom friend of Mr. Clay, and much of their correspondence is 
given in this volume down to the time of Mr. Johnston's death, by 
the burning of a steamboal on the waters of the Mississippi. The held 
of correspondence, from which this volume is a selection, was immense. 
It has been the aim of the editor hot to insert letters which had been 
before published, and there are but i'vw exceptions to this rule. The 
plan of arranging them in chronological order — the best, probably, 
that could be adopted — almost necessarily places nearly all the letters 
each in an isolated position. They are not, of course, all historical in 
the higher -use of the term. Some are introduced for their eccen- 
tricity, and some, doubtless, will be of little interest to the public 
generally. It is believed, however, that they are a fair illustration in 
kind of Mr. Clay's relations to the wide public. There are, as will 
be seen, sundry historical disclosures of considerable interest and im- 
portance, which will probably excite some attention. 

The editor must crave pardon of numerous persons who have 
kindly furnished him with letters of Mr. Clay, which could not be 
inserted for lack of room, and for ther causes. Notwithstanding the 
rules which he was obliged to adopt, the volume has swollen to un- 
expected dimensions. 

Where the editor has used the letters of persons now living, he 
has been very careful not to insert any to the use of which he would 
imagine they would have any objection. On the contrary, he has 
used only such as he supposed they would be very willing, if not 
gratified, to see in such a place. If there should be any exceptions to 
this ride, the imperative demands for the truth of history in matters 
on which the parlies concerned could not fairly claim to be consulted, 
must be the apology. 

There will, of course, be found many peculiarities of style in such a 
variety of letters as are to be found in this volume. For the most 
part, however, they are good epistolary compositions, and not a few 
of them of a high order. The editor has not felt at liberty to make 
alterations, excepl to correct grammatical errors, and even some of 
these will probably still be found. The letters of foreigners were, 
for the mosl part, addressed to Mr. Clay in English, Lafayette's al- 
ways, and they are given as found. In no case are they translations 
of the editor. There are, of course, imperfections of style in letters 
of this class. Mr. Clay's Letters are generally a model of epistolary 
writing. The fac-simiU presented is a fair exhibition of his chiro- 
graphy — always elegant, and never Careless. 

C. COLTON. 
Nkw York, September 1, 1855. 






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PRIVATE CORRESFO N D ENCE 



OF 



HENRY CLAY. 



CHAPTER I. 

COIIRESPUNDEN'CE FROM 1801 TO 1815. 

MR. CLAY TO JUDGE BROOKE.* 

Lexington, December 30, 1801. 

Dear Sir, — I have received as well your letter by Mr. H. 
Taylor, as the one written a few days after, by the post. 

I must request the favor of you to execute a small commission 
for me. The Acts of the Virginia Legislature, passed prior to 
the separation of this State, are extremely difficult to be procured, 
even by collecting fugitive Acts, in this country ; but few indeed 
of the public offices possess entire collections. Will you be so 
obliging as to obtain for me, if you can, the old revisal, which 
reaches, I believe, to the year 1766, the Chancellor revisal, and 
the Acts passed since that, in a regular series to the year 1792. 
The last is most desired, but I could wish to possess all. Your 
revisal of 1791 would not answer my purpose, because it con- 
tains laws not in force in this country, and, if my recollection 
serves me, omits to give the respective dates of the passages of 
each law, all-important in many cases. These books you will 
be pleased to forward to William Taylor, Esq., merchant, in 
Baltimore, from whom I can easily procure them ; or to either 
of our representatives in Congress, Mr. Brown, Mr. Breckemidge, 

■ Mr. Clay and Judge Brooke, of Fredericksburg, Ya., wer respondents for 

more tbnu li:ili a ceuturv. 



10 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Fowler, or Davis, who will contrive some mode for them to get 
to me. I suppose they may be obtained from the Council Cham- 
ber. 

What has become of the son of my much regretted friend, 
your brother ? I feel myself under obligations of gratitude to 
the father, which I should be happy of having an opportunity of 
discharging to the son. What is the progress he has made in 
his education ? We have in this place an university in a very 
nourishing condition. Could you not spare him to me in this 
country for two or three years ? I live at a short distance from 
the buildings, have a small family, and need not add, that from 
the cheapness of living in this country, his expense to me would 
be extremely inconsiderable. We have, too, a distant hope of 
getting Mr. Madison, from William and Mary, to take the man- 
agement of our seminary. Be pleased to let me hear from you 
on this subject. 



JAMES BROWN* TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, September 16, 1804. 

Dear Sir, — Your last letter was dated at the Springs, where 
you were reveling in the enjoyments of ease, mirth, and engaging 
society. Since that time you have probably experienced the 
bustle and solicitude attendant on an election, for I discover youi 
name at the head of the list of successful candidates. 

******** 

Nancy [Mrs. Brown] was delighted at finding that Lucretia 
[Mrs. Clay, sister of Mrs. Brown] had overcome her repugnance 
to writing, and by the next post replied to her letter. She begs 
me to press upon you the task of urging her to write more fre- 
quently, and authorizes me to declare that although her corre- 
spondents are numerous, Lucretia's letters shall ever receive prompt 
answers. 

I have written to so many of my friends to-day, that I have 
much against my inclination, defrauded you of your share. My 
aifectionate wishes for the happiness of yourself and family wait 
upon you. 

* James Brown, brother-in-law of Mr. Clay, afterward American minister at 
Paris. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 1 I 

JOHN ADAIR TO MR. CLAY. 

1 .1 ongton, August 15, 1^ 
g IR ####*## 

I need make no further apology for calling your recollection to the 
handbill that was shown in Frankfort last November, implicating 
my political principles as inimical to Mr. Jefferson and republic- 
anism. From an application to Mr. Taylor and others who 
were present, it appears that the conversation alluded to took 
place principally between you and myself, although in presence 
of several gentlemen. I wish you now to recollect, as far as you 
can, the nature of that conversation — in what manner I spoke of 
the amendment to the Federal Constitution, whether positively 
as bad, or whether I did not merely doubt its future operation as 
unfavorable to republicanism, stating, as my reason, that it had 
been urged by the Federalists under the former Administration, 
and opposed by the party who had now carried it in opposition 
to them. I wish you likewise to state in what manner and by 
whom General Pinckney's name was first introduced, whether I 
discovered the least displeasure with the administration, or tal- 
ents, or personal character of Mr. Jefferson ; on the contrary, 
whether I did not say I would prefer him as President to any 
man in the Union ; but observed that the people of America 
ought not to think their liberty or happiness depended on the 
election of any individual, but on their steady adherence to a 
virtuous observance of their laws. 

Your answer by post to Frankfort will be deemed a favor. 



MR. CLAY TO JOHN ADAIR. 

Lexington, August 24j 1805. 

Sir, — Yours of the 15th instant, addressed to me at the Olym- 
pian Springs, did not reach me until a few days ago at Paris, or 
it should have been earlier answered. 

I recollect, during the session of the Assembly of 1803, having 
had one or more conversations with you relative to the amend- 
ment of the Federal Constitution, providing for a designation of 
the President and Vice-President in the votes to be given for 
those officers. But 1 regret that my memory does not enable me 
to detail the particulars of those conversations. I remember, 
however, that you expressed doubts as to the propriety of the 



12 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

proposed amenument. urged some arguments to prove that the 
existing provision was best, and suggested your fears that a 
change would produce mischievous consequences. Whether 
your opinion was matured or not I can not say, but I do not 
think you expressed one decisively. If the name of General 
Pinckney was mentioned, and how or by whom it was intro- 
duced, at the times of the conversations, or at any of them, it 
has escaped my memory. I have heard you speak of that gen- 
tleman, I think, more than once, in terms of high respect, and 
it may have been when the topic of conversation was the amend- 
ment ; but I do not believe that you drew any parallel between 
Mr. Jefferson and him, or contended that he was equally well 
qualified to fill the presidential chair. 

When I saw the handbill to which you allude, I was surprised 
at some of the sentiments there ascribed to you ; and am inclined 
to think had they been avowed in my presence and hearing, that 
they would have made an impression which would be still fresh. 



JAMES BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

New Orleans, March 12, 1805. 

Dear Sir, — I received, two mails ago, your very acceptable 
favor of the 28th of January, and should sooner have answered 
it but for the pressure of business arising from two courts in 
session at the same time. I rejoice at every assurance I receive 
of the health and happiness of a family to whom I feel every 
attachment which a consciousness of their worth and a recollec- 
tion of their friendship can inspire. The hope of a rapturous 
meeting with you shortly, consoles me under an absence which, 
without this delightful expectation, would be insupportable. 
With the young portion of my relations I feel confident of an 
interview, hut poor old Colonel Hart* — am I never to see him 
again ? He has frightened me by the very circumstance which 
he mentions as flattering to his hope of long life. He informs 
me that his weight has increased twenty-three pounds since his 
return from the Springs. I consider this as an unfavorable 
omen, but will feel perfectly relieved from all apprehensions if 
he survives the month of March. 

* Father-iu-law of Mr. Brown and Mr. Clay. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 13 

It gives me real pleasure to hear from every quarter that you 
stand in Kentucky at the head of your profession. May you 
soon grow rich, and he able to retire from a profession, the duties 
of which are too severe in that inclement climate for the most 
robust constitution. My retreat from your State saved my life. 
One winter more would have fixed upon me a confirmed con- 
sumption. Here I have renewed my youth. 

Nancy has written to Lucretia. She enjoys good health, good 
spirits, and, as you may suppose, the esteem of all who know 
her. 

Let me hear from you more frequently. 



AARON BURR TO MR. CLAY. 

Lousyille, November 27, 1806. 

Dear Sir, — Information has this morning been given to me 
that Mr. Davies has recommenced his prosecution and inquiry. 
I must entreat your professional aid in this business. It would 
be disagreeable to me to form a new connection, and various 
considerations will, it is hoped, induce you, even at some person- 
al inconvenience, to acquiesce in my request. I shall, however, 
insist on making a liberal pecuniary compensation. The delay 
of your journey to Washington for a few days can not be very 
material. No business is done in Congress till after New Years. 
I pray you to repair to Frankfort on receipt of this. 



AARON BURR TO MR. CLAY. 

Fhaxkfort, December I, 1S<"»6. 
Sir, — I have no design, nor have I taken any measure to pro- 
mote a dissolution of the Union, or a separation of any one or 
more States from the residue. I have neither published a line 
on this subject nor has any one, through my agency, or with my 
knowledge. I have no desisn to intermeddle with the Govern- 
ment or to disturb the tranquillity of the United States, or of its 
territories, or any part of them. I have neither issued, nor signed, 
nor promised a commission to any person for any purpose. I do 
not own a musket nor a bayonet, nor any single article of mili- 
tary stores, nor does any person for me, by my authority or with 
my knowledge. 



14 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

My views have been fully explained to, and approved by, seve- 
ral of the principal officers of Government, and, I believe, are 
well understood by the administration and seen by it with com- 
placency. They are such as every man of honor and every 
good citizen must approve. 

Considering the high station you now fill in our national coun- 
cils* I have thought these explanations proper, as well to counter- 
act the chimerical tales which malevolent persons have so in- 
dustriously circulated, as to satisfy you that you have not es- 
poused the cause of a man in any way unfriendly to the laws, 
the government, or the interests of his country. 



AARON BURR TO MR. CLAJT. 

Lewis Inn, half past 3. 

Sir, — At nine this morning Mr. Jordan received your letter in 
reply to one which he wrote at my request. 

I have just arrived wet, and something fatigued, and send to 
inquire whether my presence in court is now deemed necessary 
or expedient. 

I pray you to consider yourself as my counsel in the business 
moved by Mr. D. A more technical application will be made 
when I shall have the pleasure to see you. An early interview, 
at this house, would very much gratify me. 



MR. CLAY TO THOMAS M. PRENTISS 

City of Washington, February 15, 1807. 

Dear Sir, — I received your agreeable favor, with its inclosure, 
for which accept my thanks. Your New Year's ode was well 
adapted to the object in view, and the perusal of it afforded me 
much pleasure. 

Colonel Burr has supplied much fund of conversation. No 
doubt is now entertained here of his having engaged in schemes 
of the most daring and illegal kind. Having left Kentucky under a 
belief that he was innocent, it was with no little surprise upon 
my arrival here that I found I had been deceived. Entertaining 
ihe opinion I did, I ventured at Chillicothe to speak with some 

* Mr. Clay was now Senator of the United States. 
6 



OF EENRl CLA1 . L5 

freedom upon measures proposed there of a harsh character, and 
unjustified, as it appeared to me, by public exigences'. It is to 
this cause that the strictures upon my conduct, alluded to in 

yours, are owing. They give me no pain, as I am conscious of 
having participated in no illegal projects of Burr, and know that 
I will not be suspected of having done so by any who know 
me. 

Alexander has been discharged for want of proof. Bollmar 
and Swartwout remain in custody. They applied to the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, now in session, for a writ of 
habeas corpus. Some of the judges doubted their power to 
grant it, as it was not included within the enumerated powers 
conferred upon that tribunal in the Constitution. The question 
has been discussed, and three judges to two [Chase and John- 
son] have determined in favor of the application. The prisoners 
are to be brought before the Court to-day. 

The papers inform you of the great events passing upon the 
European theater. A measure has been lately taken by Bona- 
parte of a most gigantic nature, the declaration that the islands 
of Great Britain are in a state of blockade. It is said that our 
minister at Paris has written on to Government that our com- 
merce is not to be affected by it ; I apprehend, however, that it 
will subject it to much embarrassment. 

The session of Congress has not been so interesting as I had 
anticipated. No questions in relation to our foreign intercourse, 
involving much discussion, have been agitated ; every thing de- 
pends upon the result of pending negotiations, and this will not 
be known, it is probable, until the session expires. 

I expect to be accompanied to Kentucky by two young gen- 
tlemen, one proposing the practice and the other the study of 
the law. The latter will continue with me. I am glad to find 
that you have been getting acquainted with Strange. He is a 
valuable reporter, but occupies a second station only in the grade 
of merit. I calculate upon finding you much improved in your 
law knowledge. Two words will make any man of sound in- 
tellect a lawyer, industry and application, and the same words 
with a third, economy, will enable him to make a fortune. 

My respects to your fellow-students ; and tell them they have 
been very inattentive to me in not writing. 

Present me also to the very amiable and sensible man with 
whom you reside. 



16 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

New Orleans, September 1, 180S. 
My dear Sir, — Before I had the pleasure of your last very 
agreeable letter, the news of the death of our venerable friend 
[Colonel Hart] had reached us. Although in some degree pre- 
pared for the melancholy event by the account given in your 
former letter of the state of his health. I yet felt the loss with a 
degree of sensibility which was heightened by the regret I expe- 
rienced by being forever denied the long expected pleasure of 
giving him a gleam of happiness in his last days, by restor- 
ing him the society of his beloved daughter. I need not tell 
you that she has suffered. You know the sensibility of her 
heart, and the warmth of her gratitude and attachment to the 
best of fathers. Reflection, however, should teach us the duty 
of yielding to the decrees of heaven. Our friend was not pre- 
maturely snatched away from us. He has left no needy in- 
fant orphans. He lived long and he lived well. His character 
is set before his family as a model of public and private virtues, 
w r orthy of their imitation. While they cherish his memory 
may they never depart from the example he has left them. 

•Jr *n* *a* 3t* tt tF tF 

I am sorry that you do not live in better times, for you have 
talents to adorn a public station, and to be useful to your coun- 
try. But to me character is more dear than every other thing ; 
and can any man hope long to preserve it in the present miser- 
able state of things ? You have carried your election. I am 
rejoiced at it. Your enemies will be wounded. But I pray 
you to quit public life, or muster up sufficient philosophy to bear 
up under all the hard names with which you will be christened 
in the papers. You are, it seems, a Burrite. If Wilkinson de- 
serves to be believed, seven thousand men in your State deserved 
the same opprobrious title. What you may next be called is 
uncertain; but as long^as you retain your brains and your inde- 
pendence you will be abused. Republicanism demands that a 
man of talents should be kept down by detraction. Too much 
genius, like too much wealth, destroys equality, the very soul 
of democracy. But I forbear. You will say 1 have become 
splenetic, or rather that I have always been subject to that in- 
firmity. Nothing is further from the fact. Ever since my arrival 
in this merry dancing country my temper has remained unruffled, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 17 

with the ■ 11 f Wilkinson's winter of horrors. In do- 

; life I have nothing to wish, and my practice has I 

mori rous than I had any right to expect. It is with pi 

ure thai I discover that your rage for electioneering has not 
diverted your mind from the main point; and that the pei 
while they rail at the profession of law, vie with each other in 
filling the coders of its professors. Happy in the bosom of your 
family may you long enjoy the fruits of your labors, and trans- 
mit lib) i] educations and competent fortunes to your descend- 

•info ! tF tP 4P tP W # 

Present my affectionate regards to Lucre tia and the family. 



MR. CLAY TO JUDGE BROOKE. 

Washington, January 2S, 1811. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor inclosing a statement 
relative to Garland's debt, and bank notes amounting to 
being $3 more than was the balance agreeably to the state- 
ment. I have since received a letter from Mr. Hoomcs, in 
which he acknowledges that I have overpaid the proportion of 
the purchase of. Buzzard coming from. me. But as I have the 
collection, in Kentucky, of some money for his father's estate, 
there will be no difficulty in adjusting the excess. I am much 
indebted to the kindness of your brother and yourself for your 
attention to this matter, and I can not agree that he shall he 
without compensation for his trouble. I must, therefore, request 
that you will pay him $20, for which, as well as for thi 
above mentioned, you shall be credited in the taxes up m your 
land. I do not think the present a very favorable period for 
selling your land, which I have no doubt is gradually rising in 
value. li\ however, you are desirous to e fleet a sale, your ob- 
ject would probably be facilitated by such a descriptive survey 
of it as you mention. I can hardly suppose a survey necessary 
to the perpetuation of the boundaries; surveys in that county 
having been generally made in connection, in such manner that 
they tend to prove each other, and the removal of the corner 
of one would derange the whole block. Instances have, indeed, 
occurred there of such fraudulent attempts; but I believe they are 
rare. Should you desire to possess such an account of the qual- 

2 



18 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ity of your lands as will enable you to satisfy the inquiries of 
purchasers, I need not say that, on this, as well as any other 
matter interesting to you, I shall take pleasure in promoting 
your wishes. 



MR. CLAY TO .* 

Lexixgton, July 9, 1811. 
Dear Sir, — In acknowledging the receipt of your favor of 
the 7th inst., covering $100 for the Lexington Library, I must 
say you have furnished, what was not wanted, an additional 
evidence of that devotion to literature, and that disinterested 
liberality, which you have invariably so eminently displayed. 
I fear that, in this instance, your munificence has exceeded the 
bounds of self-justice, by the appropriation of a sum not war- 
ranted by the proceeds of the orations, with which you have 
favored us. Under this impression, I was about to obey my first 
impulse of soliciting you to permit me to return your benevolent 
donation. But apprehensive that, in so doing, I might excite 
some unpleasant sensation, I determined to give it the direction 
which your goodness has prescribed, and invest it in such of the 
books contained in your list, as are not already in the Library, 
which will be not more appreciated for their enlightened con- 
tents than by a recollection of the distinguished source whence 
they have proceeded. 



LANGDON CHEVES TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington (Davis' Hotel), July 30, 1812. 

Dear Sir, — Yours of the 15th July, inst., I received yesterday, 
at Philadelphia, at the very moment I was getting into the stage 
on my way to Carolina. * * * * * 

You ask me, " "What notice you ought to take of Randolph's 
reply ?" certainly none — none whatever. Were you to notice 
it he would reply again, and it would never terminate. He 
6pokc with great truth in the beginning of the last session, when 
he said the " Speaker of the House of Representatives was the 
second man in the nation ;" and if this be true, as I think it is, 
it does not become the Speaker to enter into altercations with 
any member of the House, or even of the nation, in a public 

* The address of this letter is not given. 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 19 

justification of his conduct, any more than it does to the first 
man in the nation — the President. I, therefore, thought you 
originally wrong. But if any notice of Mr. R.'s first publication 
was right, it was taken by you exactly in the manner, temperate 
and dignified, in which it ought to have been noticed. I think, 
as the question stands, you have entirely the advantage of the 
argument; and I think you would egregiously err, as the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives (it would be entirely 
different were it a question between Mr. Clay and Mr. R.) to put 
it on any other footing than that of argument. I have not heard 
one sentence on the subject of his reply, of any kind, from any 
person, except one in my own family, which resulted from my 
having received a copy of it, through the Post-office, from him- 
self — it was not one to your prejudice. On this subject, although 
about the latitude of debate we differ, I am entirely and decidedly 
of opinion you are right ; and that, I think, is enough for you 
as Speaker. I am sure of this, whether you think me right or 
wrong, you will be certain that I give you candid advice. 

I have not a doubt of your willingness to put the question 
personally on any footing whatever, that might be deemed proper. 
But any such notice of it on your part would be most inexcusably 
wrong. It is always to be remembered that it is the Speaker 
and Mr. R. who are engaged ; and really I should be afraid my- 
self of the freedom of speech, if the Chair were supported in that 
way. No ; if you had any feelings leading you that way, it 
would be a sacred public duty to suppress them. I ought to 
have said, besides, that there is not even a plausible reason and 
occasion for any such notice were you viewed merely as any 
other individual of the community. Present my most respectful 
compliments to Mrs. Clay. I have only arrived here fifteen 
minutes, and go away on my journey in fifteen more. I am, 
therefore, in great haste. 



JAMES MONROE TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, August 28, 1812. 

My Dear Sir, — Yours of the 29th ultimo and 12th instant 
have been received. The former should have been answered 
sooner, had I not been absent in Virginia, where I had gone t 
to take my family for the advantage of our mountain air. 



20 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

We have just heard with equal astonishment and concern, that 
General Hull has surrendered, by capitulation, the army under 
his command at Detroit, to the British force opposed to him. 
The circumstances attending this most mortifying and humiliat- 
ing event arc not known ; but, so far as we are informed on the 
subject, there appears to be no justification of it. I can not 
suspect his integrity ; I rather suppose that a panic had seized 
the whole force, and that he and they became victims of his 
want of energy, promptitude of decision, and those resources, the 
characteristics of great minds in difficult emergencies. We under- 
stand that, after passing the river, he suffered his communication 
to be cut off with the States of Ohio and Kentucky, and without 
making any active movement in front to strike terror into the 
enemy, he remained tranquil, thereby evincing a want of confi- 
dence in his own means, and giving time to collect his forces 
together. No intelligence justifies the belief that he gave battle 
in a single instance. It appears that he surrendered on a sum- 
mons from Fort Sandwich, on the opposite side of the river, after 
the firing of some cannon or mortars, which did no great mis- 
chief. 

Before this disastrous event was known, the force, now, I pre- 
sume, on its march, was ordered from Kentucky, and the ap- 
pointment of brigadier had been conferred on Governor Harrison. 
Your letters had produced all the effect on those subjects, which 
their solidity justly merited. 

I most sincerely wish that the President could dispose of me, 
at this juncture, in the military line. If circumstances would 
permit, and it should be thought that I could render any service, 
I would, in a very few days, join our forces assembling beyond 
the Ohio, and endeavor to recover the ground which we have 
lost. He left this to-day for Virginia, as did Mr. Gallatin for 
New York, but expresses being sent for them, they will probably 
both return to-morrow. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Cincinnati, August 29, 1812. 

I write to you, my dear sir, amid a thousand interruptions, 
and I do it solely for the purpose of showing you that you 
are present to my recollection, under circumstances that would 
almost justify a suspension of every private feeling. The ru- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 21 

mored disasters upon our north-western frontier, are now ascer- 
tained to be correct. The important point of Mackinac was sur- 
rendered without an effort; an army captured at Detroit, after 
receiving three shots from a distant battery of the enemy (and 
from the range of which it was easy to retire), a fort [Chicago], 
in the midst of hostile tribes of Indians, ordered to be evacu- 
ated, and the garrison slaughtered ; the numerous north-western 
tribes of Indians (with the exception of two feeble ones), in 
arms against us, is the distressing picture which presents itself 
to view in this part of the country. To remedy all these 
misfortunes, I have an army competent in numbers, and in spirit 
equal to any that Greece or Rome ever boasted of, but desti- 
tute of artillery, of many necessary equipments, and absolutely 
ignorant of every military evolution, nor have I but a single 
individual capable of assisting me in training them. But I beg 
you to believe, my dear sir. that this retrospect of my situation, 
far from producing despondency, produces a contrary effect, and 
I feel confident of being able to surmount them all. The 
grounds of this confidence are a reliance on my own zeal and 
perseverance, and a perfect conviction that no such materials 
for forming an invincible army ever existed, as the volunteers 
Which have marched from Kentucky on the present occasion. 

Fort Wayne is in imminent danger. Governor Meiggs is col- 
lecting a body of mounted men at Urbanna, and I suppose will 
send them to relieve Fort Wayne, before I can get up with the 
infantry. I dispatched Garrard's troop this morning, with orders 
to join any corps (at Piqua) which may be destined for that 
object. The three regiments of infantry marched also this 
morning ; I shall follow and overtake them to-morrow. Should 
the relief of Fort Wayne not have been attempted, or the 
attempt have failed, it will be my first object upon my arrival at 
Piqua. I have made every arrangement in my power to facili- 
tate the march of the regiments which are expected from Ken- 
tucky, after they shall arrive here, but I fear that I shall be 
obliged to advance from Piqua without them. With the assist- 
ance of a number of mounted men, however, which Governor 
Meiggs can supply, I may do pretty well. With troops that are 
awkward, and who, of course, maneuver slowly, mounted men 
are absolutely indi j .able to mask their evolutions. 

I am so much interrupted, that I can only a U that I am your 
friend, etc. 



22 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Cincinnati, August 30, 1812. 
My Dear Sir, — After having been absent from home for so 
many months you will no doubt think it unreasonable that you 
should be asked to take a considerable journey, and that on an 
occasion entirely foreign to your ordinary public duties. I know 
you, however, too well, not to believe that sacrifices of private 
convenience will bo always made to render service to your 
country. Without further preamble then, I inform you that 
in my opinion, your presence on the frontier of this State 
would be productive of great advantages. I can assure you 
that your advice and assistance in determining the course of 
operations for the army (to the command of which I have 
been designated by your recommendation), will be highly use- 
ful. You are not only pledged in some manner for my con- 
duct, but for the success of the war — for God's sake, then, come 
on to Piqua as quickly as possible, and let us endeavor to throw 
off from the administration that weight of reproach which the 
late disasters will heap upon them. If you come, bring on 
McKee with you, whom you will overtake upon the road. An 
extract from this letter will be authority for the commanding 
officer of his regiment to let him come. 



JAMES MONROE TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, September 17, 1S12. 
My dear Sir, — I have had the pleasure to receive several let- 
ters from you in relation to our affairs to the westward, and I 
hope that one which I wrote you on the receipt of the first, has 
long since reached its destination. Every effort has been made 
by the government to remedy the shameful and disas irons loss 
of the army and fort at Detroit, and I hope the best effects will 
result from them. In aid of the force which has so generously 
volunteered its service from Kentucky and Ohio, fifteen hundred 
are ordered from Pennsylvania, and a like number from Virginia, 
so that I think you will have on the borders of Lake Erie, early 
in the next month, eight thousand or ten thousand men, well 
equipped, prepared to inarch on to recover the ground lest, and re- 
sume the conquest of Upper Canada. I have the utmost conn- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 23 

dence in the success of the expedition which is set on foot, be- 
cause the spirit of the people appears to be roused to that state 
which is best adapted to manly and heroic achievements. I am 
willing to trust to their sense of honor and to their patriotism, to 
efface the stigma which has been fixed on our national character. 
I hope they will exhibit a noble contrast to that degenerate spirit 
which has of late, and continues to exhibit itself to the eastward, 
in the dominant party there. The command of this force is com- 
mitted to Governor Harrison, who, it is believed, will justify the 
favorable expectation entertained of him by those who arc best 
acquainted with his merit. You and our other friends in Ken- 
tucky will find that the utmost attention has been paid to your 
opinions and wishes on all these subjects. 

A large park of heavy artillery is sent on to Pittsburg, to be 
forwarded thence toward Cleveland, for the use of the army, 
whose duty it will be to retake Detroit, and expel the British 
from Maiden and Upper Canada. In short, every arrangement is 
made to give effect to our operations in that quarter that has ap- 
peared to be necessary. 

On the intelligence of the surrender of Detroit, the President 
expressed a desire to avail himself of my services in that quarter, 
and had partly decided so to do. He proposed that I should go 
in the character of a volunteer, with the rank of major general, 
to take the command of the forces. I expressed my willingness 
to obey the summons, although it was sudden and unexpected, 
as indeed the event which suggested the idea was. On mature 
reflection, however, he concluded that it would not be proper for 
me to leave my present station at the present juncture. I had no 
opinion on the subject, but was prepared to act in any situation 
in which it might be thought I might be most useful. 

From the northern army we have nothing which inspires a 
confident hope of any brilliant success. The disaffection in that 
quarter has paralyzed every effort of the government, and ren- 
dered inoperative every law of Congress ; 1 speak comparatively 
with what might have been expected. On the public mind, 
however, a salutary effect is produced even there, by the events 
which have occurred. Misfortune and success have alike dimin- 
ished the influence of foreign attachments and party animosities, 
and contributed to draw the people clc ether. The surren- 

der of our army excited a general grief, and the naval victory a 
general joy. Inveterate Toryism itself was compelled, in both 



24 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

instances, to disguise its character and hide its feelings, by ap- 
pearing to sympathize with those of the nation. If Great Britain 
does not come forward soon and propose honorable conditions, I 
am convinced that the war will become a national one, and will 
terminate in the expulsion of her force and power from the con- 
tinent. 

Should you see my old and venerable friend. General Scott, I 
beg you to present my best regards to him. 



mr. clay's passport to gottenburg. 

To all who shall see these presents, greeting: 

The President of the United States of America having ap- 
pointed the Honorable Henry Clay, late Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, a Minister Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary, 
in conjunction with John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, and 
Jonathan Russell, Esquires, to neg-otiate and sign a treaty of 
peace with Great Britain ; and the said Henry Clay, who is the 
bearer hereof, being now on his way to Gotten!) urg, in the king- 
dom of Sweden, for the purpose of fulfilling the objects of his 
mission ; These are to request all officers of the United States 
aforesaid, civil and military, the officers atid subjects of powers 
in amity with the said United States, and all others whom it 
may concern, not to offer to the said Henry Clay any hinderance 
or molestation whatsoever ; but, on the contrary, to atford to 
him and to his secretaries and attendants, with their baggage, all 
necessary aid, comfort, and protection. 

In faith whereof, 1, James Monroe, Secretary of State for the 
United States of America, have hereunto subscribed my name 
and affixed the seal of my office. 

Given at Washington City, this 4th day of February, A. D. 
1814, and in the thirty-eighth year of American Independence. 



MRS. CLAY TO MR. CLAY. 

Wa3ihngto>-, March 10. 

My dear Husband, — Mr. Barker called to-day to let me know 
that he has an opportunity of sending letters to Gottenburg, and 
offered to take charge of one for you. I heard the other day 



OF HENRY CLAY. 25 

from Lexington that it is more sickly than it ever has been. 
Nelly Hart had twelve negroes sick ; Theodore wrote me that 
all onr family were well. The children that I have with me are 
all \v II, and Henry is always talking of yon, he comes up and 
kisses me lor his papa. I long very much to be at heme with 
my family, lor I am very dreary here as I do not pay visits; in- 
deed I found I could not go out without you in the evening, trot 
I do all in my power to keep me from being melancholy. Onr 
suit in this court was tried the other day ; I have not heard that 
it is decided. Mr. WicklifT started on Sunday last for Kentucky. 
Mrs. Brown has at last made up her mind to go home with me 
and spend the summer. Judge Todd and his lady have been 
very polite to me since you left this ; the Judge called the 
other day to examine the light wagon we were to have got from 
Mr. L. but he found it so completely worn out that I determined 
not to take it ; we shall I hope get on without it. Mr. Bibb 
me the !s500 as soon as he got here. You need not make your- 
self the least uneasy on our account, for I believe we shall do 
very well. Mr. Granger has been turned out of office. A great 
many blame Mr. Madison. Susan and Ann send their love to 
you. May God spare you to us. Do take care of yourself for 
our sakes 



MR. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, April 8, 1814. 

Dear Sir, — The events which have within a few days 
passed in this city, and in its neighborhood, have changed every 
thing in France but the character of the Parisians, and perhaps 
of Frenchmen in general. 

On the 30th ult. a battle was fought in the vicinity of Paris 
by the French troops under the Duke of Ragusa, amounting to 
between fifteen and twenty thousand men. and the grand allied 
army. The loss was considerable on both sides, but that of the 
Allies was more than double. It is estimated from eight to ten 
thousand men. The disparity in the loss was the result of the 
strong positions of the French troops, and the d f the Allies 

to get possession of the capital before the arrival i 
or Napoleon, who was advancing by rapid marches upon their 
rear. This desire was so predominant that they made no attempt 



26 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

to turn these positions, but marched directly up to the intrench- 
ments, where they were repulsed four or five times. The battle 
commenced about 4 o'clock A. M. and finished about the same 
time in the evening. The Duke of Ragusa entered into a con- 
vention by which he agreed to evacuate the city, taking with 
him all his baggage, ammunition and artillery. 

The next day the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia en- 
tered Paris at the head of about fifty thousand of the finest troops 
in the world. The remainder of their immense army either defiled 
on the north or south side of the city, or remained in their po- 
sitions on the cast, which was the field of battle. The Emper- 
or of Russia, with his Minister of Foreign Relations, went di- 
rectly to the house of the Prince of Benevento, who convened 
the Senate the same evening, and had himself and three of his 
friends, with one devoted Bourbonite, named to the provisional 
government. The Senate had deposed Napoleon Bonaparte, and 
directed the provisional government to form a Constitution, which 
has been accomplished, and accepted by the Senate and the small 
portion of the Legislative corps who are now in Paris. The Moni- 
tcur of this day contains this Constitution, which you will prob- 
ably see before you receive this letter. The monarchy is declared 
to be hereditary in the house of Bourbon in the male line. The 
present Senators remaining Senators of the realm by the same 
tenure. The Senate to consist of one hundred and fifty at least, 
and not more than two hundred. The ancient and new nobility to 
remain. All Frenchmen to be capable of filling all the offices of 
the government. The members of the legislative corps to hold 
their offices for five years, and to be elected directly by the people. 

The proceedings of the Senate and of the provisional govern- 
ment, have overturned the authority of the Emperor with his 
army, and especially with his ablest generals. He seems to have 
sunk without an effort, at least without an effort corresponding in 
any degree with his former fame. Such at least is the conclu- 
sion which I draw from the facts which are communicated to the 
public. It is possible that these facts may be misrepresented. I 
believe, however, that it is certain, that he has agreed to retire 
with his family to the Isle of Elba upon a pension of six mil- 
lions of livres. From the moment that he saw that it was im- 
possible for him to reign he ought to have died. The manner 
was in his election. A strange infatuation seems to have in- 
fluenced his conduct during the last six months. Still relying 



OP lir.NkV CLAY. 27 

upon his talents and liis power lie refused, at Prague, to secure 
at least the neutrality of Austria, by giving her every thing she 
required. After having retreated across the Rhine he reluctantly 
accepted the basis whirl) the Allies proposed, and which there is 
some reason to believe they were sincerely disposed to adopt. 
Lord Castlcrcagh's mission, however, according to the best view 
o( the subject which I have been able to take, was intended 
solely to prevent this accommodation. Time will prove the ac- 
curacy or inaccuracy of this opinion. There must have been 
great address employed in managing the Emperor of Austria, 
who had rejected all idea of overthrowing the reigning dynasty. 
The infatuation of the Emperor, and his arrogance to his father- 
in-law (if we are to credit reports apparently well founded), 
greatly contributed to the success of the arts employed by the 
British Secretary. That the Emperor of Austria has been duped 
is clearlv established by the declaration of the Allies after the 
breaking up of the Congress at Chatillon, and by the conduct of 
Lord Wellington. This declaration states that up to the 15th 
of March they were ready to make peace with the Emperor Na- 
poleon, whereas the address of Lord Wellington, on the 2d of 
February, declares Louis XVIII. and raises the Bourbon stand- 
ard. The introduction of the ancient dynasty is not accepta- 
ble to the great body of the people of Paris. Even now, after 
the Senate and provisional government have declared for that 
dynasty, there is not one man in a hundred who puts on the 
white cockade. On the day of the entry of the allied sover- 
eigns, all the persons devoted to their ancient kings endeavored 
to make themselves as conspicuous as possible, and to conceal 
tli'- smallncss of their numbers by continual change of place. 
Exertions were made to excite popular feeling and popular tumult, 
but without cfTect. But for the National Guard popular tumult 
would have been excited, perhaps, but not in favor of the Bour- 
bons. If the mob of Paris had been put in motion it would 
have been in favor of a free government. 

The men now in power would, as far as I have been able to 
judge, have preferred the succession of the King of Rome, 
with a regency provided by the Empress ; but the Emperor 
Alexander, who, under the modest exterior of submitting every 
tiling to the will of the French people, dictates to the Senate 
and provisional government, at least this article of their Constitu- 
tion. 



28 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I did not anticipate precisely the manner in which this Euro- 
pean peace was to be consummated. I most sincerely wish you 
complete success in your negotiations, although I apprehend that 
great difficulties will be presented. Under existing circumstan- 
ces, if peace is made, I presume that the treaty will be very 
short, concluding nothing but peace and the restoration of what 
territory may be in the hands of either party by conquest, if 
there is any such. 

P. S. I send this by the Secretary of the Danish Legation, 
who sets out immediately for Copenhagen, which gives me no 
opportunity for reflection or revision of this hasty scrawl, as 1 
have just been informed of the fact of his setting out. 



MR. BAYARD TO MR. CLAY. 

London, April 20, ISM. 

Dear Sir, — The mail of last evening brought the intelli- 
gence of your arrival at Gottenburg. I present you my con- 
gratulations upon your safe passage across the Atlantic. Mr. 
Gallatin and myself left St. Petersburg on the 25th of January, 
and arrived at Amsterdam on the 4th of March. In that city 
we received the first advice of the direct negotiation proposed 
to be held between the United States and Great Britain, at Got- 
tenburg, and of the intention of our government to send addi- 
tional commissioners from America. Knowing that some time 
would elapse before your arrival in Europe, and also before the 
appointment of commissioners on the part of this Government, 
we thought it likely that more good might result from spending 
the interval in this country rather than in Holland. 

We came over on the 9th inst. at a moment not very propi- 
tious for the objects we had. in view. The Allies had taken 
possession of Paris, and the next day brought the news of Bo- 
naparte's formal abdication of the thrones of France and Italy. 
The intelligence completely turned the heads of all ranks who 
seem to have thought of nothing since, but the means of mani- 
festing their joy on the occasion. 

It is much to be apprehended that this great and unexpected 
event will have an unfavorable influence upon the state of affairs 
between the United States and Great Britain. There is reason to 
think that it has materially changed the views of the British 



OF HENRY CLAY. 29 

Ministry. In fact the sudden reduction of their naval and mili- 
tary establishments would create much embarrass! 
American war furnishes too good a pretens • to avoid it. And 
the great augmentation of their di ' I force presents an 

additional temptation to prosecute the war. You must 
know that the temper of the country is highly excited against 
us. and decidedly expressed in favor of the continuance of 
tilities. 

I do not pretend, however, to speak at presenl with any cer- 
tainty of the intentions of the Government, for we have had no 
communication with any member of it. 

I think they have avoided any intercourse with us, but this 
may be attributed to the absence of Lord Castlereagh and the 
indisposition of the other ministers to interfere with the affairs 
of his department. 

We can not learn that any step has yet been taken toward the 
selection of characters to be charged with the negotiation on 
the part of this Government. It is stated, and upon such au- 
thority as to deserve credit, that no appointment will be made 
till the Government is officially notified of the appointment of 
the American commissioners and of their arrival at the place of 
rendezvous. Air. G. and myself hav6 thought it, therefore, of 
sufficient importance to dispatch a special messenger to apprise 
you of the fact, and to enable you by his return, without loss 
of time, to make the official communication. 

If there be a discretion on the subject, we would thoroughly 
recommend that some town in Holland should be substituted in 
lieu of Gottenbnrg. as the seat of the negotiation. There can 
be no doubt that the change would facilitate and accelerate the 
result. You may rely upon the friendly dispositions of the 
Prince of Orange, of which we had distinguished proofs during 
a short residence at Amsterdam. 

One of the first acts of the Government of the Prince, was to 
nominate a minister to the I'nited States. 

I shall remain in London till I have the pleasure of hearing 
from you, unless (which i> not to be expected), in the mean time 
commissioners should be appointed on the part of this Government. 

This 1 tter will be delivered t<> you by Colonel Milligan, who 
accompanied me as private secretary to St. Petersburg. He is 
deserving of your confidence, and I beg leave to recommend him 
to your attentions. 



30 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



ALBERT GALLATIN TO MB. CLAY. 

London, April 22, 1814. 

Dear Sir, — Wc have just heard of your arrival, but have 
received no letters, and I am yet ignorant whether I am one of 
the new commission to treat of peace. My arrangements must 
depend on that circumstance, and I wait with impatience for the 
official account which you must have brought. For that reason 
Mr. Bayard addresses you and Mr. Russel in his own name ; but 
I coincide fully with him in the opinion that the negotiations 
should by all means be opened here, or at least, in Holland, if 
this is not rendered impracticable from the nature of the com- 
mission. If this has unfortunately been limited to treating of 
peace at Gottenburg, which seems highly improbable, there is 
no remedy. But if the commission admits of a change of 
place, I would feel no hesitation in removing them, at least, to 
any other neutral place, whatever may be the language of the 
instructions. For their spirit would be fully answered by treat- 
ing in any other friendly country as well as if at Gottenburg. 
On that point I feel great anxiety, because on account of the 
late great changes in Europe, and of the increased difficulties 
thence arising in making any treaty, I do believe that it would 
be utterly impossible to succeed in that corner, removed from 
every interference in our favor on the part of the European pow- 
ers, and compelled to act with men clothed with limited author- 
ities, and who might at all times plead a want of instructions. 

You are sufficiently aware of the total change in our affairs 
produced by the late revolution, and by the restoration of uni- 
versal peace in the European world, from which we are alone 
excluded. A well organized and large army is at once liberated 
from any European employment, and ready, together with a 
superabundant naval force, to act immediately against us. How 
ill-prepared wc are to meet it in a proper manner no one knows 
better than yourself; but, above all, ouro%n divisions and the hos- 
tile attitude of the Eastern States give room to apprehend that a 
continuance of the war might prove vitally fatal to the United 
States. 

I understand that the ministers, with whom we have not had 
any direct intercourse, still profess to he disposed to make an 
equitable peace. Bat the hope not of ultimate conquest, but of 
a dissolution of the union, the convenient pretense which the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 31 

American war will afford to preserve large military establish- 
ments, and above all the force of popular feeling may all unite 
in inducing the cabinet in throwing impediments in the way of 
peace. They will not, certainly, be disposed to make conces- 
sions, nor probably displeased at a failure of negotiations. That 
the war is popular, and that national pride, inflated by the last 
unexpected success, can not be satisfied without what they call 
the chastisement of America, can not be doubted. The mass 
of the people here know nothing of American politics but 
through the medium of federal speeches and newspapers faith- 
fully transcribed in their own journals. They do not even sus- 
] jet that we have any just cause of complaint, and consider us 
altogether as the aggressors, and as allies of Bonaparte. In these 
opinions it is understood that the ministers do not participate ; 
but it will really require an effort on their part to act contrary to 
public opinion ; and they must, even if perfectly sincere, use 
great caution and rim some risk of popularity. A direct, or at 
least, a very near intercourse with them is therefore highly im- 
portant, as I have no doubt that they would go further them- 
selves than they would be willing to intrust any other person. 
To this must be added, that Lord Castlereagh is, according to the 
best information I have been able to collect, the best disposed 
man in the cabinet, and that coming from France and having 
had intercourse with the Emperor Alexander, it is not improba- 
ble that these dispositions may have been increased by the per- 
sonal expression of the Emperor's wishes in favor of peace with 
America. Whatever advantage may be derived from that cir- 
cumstance and from the Emperor's arrival here, would be alto- 
gether lost at Gottenburg. 

I have confined my letter to this single point, and hoping 
soon to hear from you and from Mr. Russell to whom you will 
present my best compliments. 



MR. RUSSELL TO MR. CLAY. 

Stockholm, April 26, 1914. 

Dear Sir, — I did not reach this place until yesterday, a little 
before noon. The roads were very fine, but the weather, after 
the first day, execrable. I have announced my arrival to the 
minister, aad he has assigned one o'clock to-morrow for our first 



3^ PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

interview, when I shall probably learn when I may expect to be 
presented to the king. This place, as far as I have yet seen 
it, promises to be agreeable. 

Mr. Speyer received this morning a letter from Mr. Adams, 
d the 11th of this month, in which he says he purposes to 
leave St. Petersburg about the 20th of this month, and hopes to 
arrive somewhere in Sweden, by the 1st of May — probably at 
Stockholm. This route, he says, will depend upon the ther- 
mometer of the next ten days. 

I shall endeavor to complete my preparatory errand here, in 
season, to join Mr. Adams in his progress toward Gottenburg, 
should he come this way. 

If you hear any thing of our wandering colleagues, please 
communicate it to me, as well as every thing else of an interest- 
ing nature at your residence. 

Please say to our worthy secretary, and to Captain Angus, that 
I think Stockholm will fully indemnify them for the fatigue and 
expense of a visit. 

I shall occasionally report progress, and give you a sketch of 
the times here. Make my compliments to Mr. Carroll. 



MR. RUSSELL TO MR. CLAY. 

Stockholm, May S, 1814. 

My dear Sir, — I received, day before yesterday, your com- 
munication, by the Consul General of Portugal, but not in season 
to return an answer by the mail of that day. 

With regard to our power to enter into the negotiation else- 
where than at Gottenburg, I think the view which you have 
taken is quite satisfactory. A restriction of this power having 
been omitted in the commission, by the express direr! inn of the 
President, appears to explain sufficiently his intentions, and to 
leave us at liberty, notwithstanding the incidental insertion of 
" Gottenburg" in the instructions, to treat wherever we may 
have the most promising prospect of success. 

The only point, therefore, which remains for consideration, is 
that of expediency, and the reasons urged by Mr. Gallatin. Mr. 
Bayard, and yourself, have great weight. 

The apprehension of any serious evil from this quarter, occa- 
sioned by our change of position, is, I trust, without foundation. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 33 

I regret, however, that I had not known the opinions of Messrs. 
Gallatin and Bayard in season to have shaped my communica- 
tions here accord: ' . Something like a retrograde me i I 
will now lie necessary, and it may require some address to recon- 
cile this Government to the new arrangement. I hope it may 
be in our power to throw the responsibility on the British ( : 
ernment, but am somewhat afraid the original proposition will 
appear to have come from our colleagues. 

My personal convenience and inclination are, indeed, opposed 
to the change, but considerations of this kind must yield to those 
of public utility. 

I am placed rather in an awkward predicament by your com- 
munication, as the uncertainty in which it leaves our ultimate 
location, disqualifies me from adapting my movements here with 
sufficient precision to either alternative. This is a situation truly 
diplomatic, but I pray you to relieve me from its embarrassments 
the first moment it is in your power to do so. 

I had, on the 29th ultimo, my presentations successively to the 
King, the Queen, the Duke of Sudermania, and the Princess 
Sophia. The early day assigned for this ceremony may be con- 
sidered as some proof of a friendly disposition toward us. 

The Crown Prince was to leave Paris on the 23d ultimo, and 
will probably be here by the 20th of this month. I hope, there- 
fore, to have an opportunity of seeing him before my departure 
from Stockholm. 

I wrote you soon after my arrival here, but my letter does not 
appear to have been received at the date of yours. I hear noth- 
ing more of Mr. Adams, but as the navigation is now open from 
Abo, he will probably soon be in Sweden. 

Please remember me kindly to Mr. Carroll, and Captain Angus 
and his officers. 



MR. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

r.\r.i-, June 10, 1814. 

My dlar Sir, — Mr. Carroll arrived a few days ago, and 
brought me your letters of the 10th and 11th ultimo. The 
change in the place of tl otiation for peace will enable me 

to write to you frequently, and will afford me the plea, 
receiving from you the most interesting details upon the advances 
which you shall make from day to day in the work of peace. 



34 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

My expectations of a happy result are not strong. The arrogance 
of the enemy was never greater than at the present moment. 
The infatuation of that nation excludes almost the possibility of 
peace. The ministry are represented as being very temperate 
and moderate. In my former communications I have stated the 
reasons which I have for doubting the sincerity of their profes- 
sions of moderation. I may have been wrong in my inferences. 
I wish that the result may correct me of this error. Admitting 
the possibility that the British ministers will consent to make 
peace, without deciding any thing upon the question of impress- 
ment, will your instructions justify you in accepting it ? So far 
as I am acquainted with the nature of those instructions, their 
letter will not. But these instructions were given at a time when 
the great changes which have intervened in Europe were not 
only unknown, but wholly unexpected. What will be the effect 
which these changes will produce upon the determinations of 
the Government ? Will the Government, after they are informed 
of these changes, give directions to conclude peace, leaving the 
question of impressment open to further negotiation ? Will it 
consent to a peace which shall make no mention of this question ? 
I presume it will. If the negotiators shall be of this opinion, 
ought they to hesitate to accept, in the most prompt manner, of 
a peace which they are convinced the Government will instruct 
them to make, as soon as it is informed of the actual state of 
things ? I should answer promptly, No. A peace which omits 
the question of impressment entirely, will leave the American 
Government at perfect liberty to apply the proper remedy, when- 
ever the evil shall be felt. I do not believe that you will be 
placed in a situation to determine this question. I believe they 
will insist upon the unqualified admission of their right to im- 
press on board American vessels at sea. This, I trust, will never 
be conceded. It would be better to return to our colonial rela- 
tions with our mother country, than submit to this condition. If 
it must be conceded, a federal President must make the conces- 
sion. As there is but a faint glimmering of hope that the nego- 
tiation will terminate in peace, the next important point to be 
obtained is, that it shall break oil*, upon principles which will 
convince the American people, of all parties, that peace can be 
obtained only by the most vigorous prosecution of the war. I 
'rive the most unlimited confidence in the skill and address of 
our negotiators. I am perfectly satisfied that the negotiation will 



OF HENRY CLAY. 

be conducted with a view to affect this important point. I have 
seen and conversed with several Englishmen in Paris, upon the 
question of impressment, and find the most of them ;norant 

and arrogant. Sir Thomas Baring is an exception to this remark. 
But his mode of adjusting this question is wholly inadmissible. 
He proposes that no impressment shall be made in vessels en- 
gaged in the coasting trade — that no impressment shall take 
place in vessels engaged in the foreign trade, in sight of the 
American coast. He thinks the ministry will hardly go so 
far. A merchant of the name of Wilson says that an ar- 
rangement of a different nature would be satisfactory to the 
nation. It is this, that when a British officer should visit an 
American vessel, and designate any one of the crew as a British 
subject, and he should admit the fact, that the master or captain 
of the American vessel should deliver him up. If the man should 
deny that he is an Englishman, and the captain should refuse to 
deliver him. that the visiting officer should endorse the ship's 
papers with the name of the sailor, and with his allegation. The 
question of nationality shall be inquired into, at the first port at 
which the vessel shall touch, where there is a British consul ; if 
found against the sailor, the captain shall pay a fine, or the ex- 
penses of the investigation, and the sailor shall be delivered up. 
If for him, the British Consul, or if in England, the British Gov- 
ernment should be subject to the same payment. He says, that 
in the case of an admitted British subject, if the American cap- 
tain should declare that the loss of the man would endanger the 
vessel, that he should be kept on board until the vessel entered 
the port of destination, when the captain should be bound to 
deliver him over to the British Consul, or officer authorized to 
receive him. I see no objection to this plan, except that the 
captain should not be permitted to deliver any man who denies 
the charge, until it is established against him. This arrange- 
ment will give the enemy the absolute control over their own 
seamen, as far as the fact of nationality can be established. It 
at the same time secures American sailors from arbitrary imp: • - 
ment. If the vessel should be bound to the ports of a nation 
at war with England.it might be made the duty of the American 
Consul at such port to ship him on board of an American vi 
bound to England, to the United States, or to a neutral port, 
where the fact should be promptly settled. I do not believe that 
this arrangement will be acceptable to the Government of J'. . 



36 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

land, because I do not believe they will be satisfied with any 
arrangement which will prevent their seizing upon the sailors 
of other nations. If I am correct in my conjecture, the pr< (posi- 
tion will embarrass them, and the rejection will prove, to the 
most prejudiced mind, that they are determined to make the 
American sailors fight the battles which are to rivet the chains 
of slavery, which they have been forging for all maritime states, 
and especially for the seafaring men of these states, for a century 
past. I have thought that this arrangement ought to be sug- 
gested to you, because it may not have occurred to any one of 
our ministers. I think it highly improbable that the English 
negotiators will make, any proposition of this nature. If their 
pretensions shall be so moderate as to afford rational ground for 
discussion, this arrangement may be proposed with advantage. 

If their views are so unreasonable as to exclude discussion, 
that of itself will have the happy effect of convincing all parties 
that the peace must be obtained by the sword alone. But even 
in this case, when the rejection of the arrangement will be cer- 
tain, I am inclined to believe that the proposition, coming from 
the American ministers, will have a tendency to elucidate the 
extent of the concessions which they demand upon this point, 
more satisfactorily than any other mode which has been presented 
to my mind. Mr. Wilson is a true John Bull, but, I believe, a 
very honest man, and, I am sure, sincerely desirous of peace. 
The rejection of the arrangement will probably have some effect 
upon the English nation itself. If this principle will be satisfac- 
tory to Mr. Wilson, it is probable that it will be acceptable to 
many others — in fact, to all reasonable men — to all men who 
have not formed the foolish and extravagant idea of re-colonizing 
the United States. 

I have felt that it was my duty to present this subject to you 
in its fullest extent. I have verbally communicated it to Mr. 
Bayard. It is probable that Mr. Wilson may have communicated 
this idea to Mr. Gallatin, as he made his acquaintance, and that 
of Mr. Bayard's also, in London. He had not suggested it to 
the latter. 

I will obtain the necessary passports for you, and send them 
on to Ghent, as the Moniteur of yesterday has notified that it is 
necessary to have them to leave the kingdom. I suppose it is 
equally necessary to enter it. From the letters which I have 
written to you, you will perceive that some of my inferences 



OF HENRY CLAY. 87 

have been proved, by subsequent events, to be incorrect. I 
reasoned from the facts as they were presented to my mind, and 
I feci no mortification at the result. If it was my duty to com- 
municate every thing to you which I knew, or believed, al the 
moment of writing, I do not feel any mortification that i me of 
my conjectures, some of my inferences, have proved to be in- 
correct. 

I have authority to draw on the bankers of the United States 
for diplomatic intercourse, and for disbursements for distressed 
seamen. Under the first head, I can satisfy Mr. Carroll's ex- 
penses, and shall do it with great pleasure on his own account, 
as well as upon your request. I am well acquainted with his 
father, and entertain the highest esteem for him. 

This letter will be delivered to you by Mr. Bayard, who, I 
am happy to inform you, coincides with me in every question 
relative to the peace. He believes with me, if the nation 
can be united in the prosecution of the war, that the interest of 
the United States will be promoted by the failure of the negotia- 
tion. He will heartily unite with you in bringing the discussions 
to a close that will secure this great object. I think, from the 
English papers, that no armistice has been agreed upon. I re- 
joice that it has failed. It might have done us much injury, 
but could not possibly do us any good. God bless you, my d 
sir, and bless your labors, and make them useful to your country. 
Mine, I believe, are like water spilled on the ground, that can 
never be gathered. Adieu. 



MR. RUSSELL TO MR. CLAY. 

Stockholm, July 2, 181-t. 

My dear Sir, — 1 have had the pleasure to receive your letter 
of the 27th ult. My distress at the delay which our joint errand 
has encountered, had almost become intolerable, and the kind of 
comfort I have received from Mr. Adams, has afforded very little 
relief. His apprehensions are rather of a bloomy cast with 
regard to the result of our labors, in which, I hope, how vi r, In: 
will be disappointed. He will show you a letter to Lord Castle- 
reagh, which I have signed. I have done this in the; ex] lion 
that the letter will not be delivered without the signatures of the 
other gentlemen compo. -.iiig the mission, ami sol< ly to the case 



88 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

that the conferences be not transferred to Holland, on the terms 
which you proposed, that is, if Messrs. Gallatin and Bayard, not 
being able to obtain your condition, and declining a removal 
without it, should again recur to you at Gottenburg, with new 
propositions. I think indeed that the condition itself was not of 
importance, although you had certainly reason to believe it to be 
so. Things have, however, come to my knowledge since my 
arrival here, which have entirely altered my view of the dispo- 
sition and policy of this cabinet. Although the condition be 
not important, yet I find Mr. Adams, who also believes it not to 
be important, has definitively made up his mind not to remove 
without it, and is even uncertain if he will go with it. His 
reasons are that our present instructions will not admit of a ne- 
gotiation on the basis which will be proposed by the adverse 
party, and therefore, the sooner we meet, the sooner shall we 
know the result, and be able to act accordingly. He is decided, 
therefore, that Gottenburg is to be preferred, unless Holland 
should already be agreed on. I have signed the above note to 
prevent the delay of applying to me, or the necessity of acting 
without me, should the circumstances occur in which it can be 
properly used. 

I sincerely wish with you that the twenty prizes of the Rat- 
tlesnake, in Norway, could be condemned, but to this procedure 
there are insuperable difficulties. I do not recollect a single 
instance of a sovereign having freely consented to the institution 
of a foreign court of admiralty within his dominions, and the 
peculiar situation of Norway at this moment, presents additional 
difliculties. Both the contending parties must consider the 
friendship of England to be indispensable to their success, and 
so far from consenting to an extraordinary measure for the con- 
demnation of the property in question, I am not without alarm 
that either of them would be willing to conciliate that friend- 
ship, by a violation of the rights of the captor. 

The prince will be here to-morrow, and I shall follow Mr. 
Adams, who will hand you this letter, as soon as I learn the 
definitive location of the mission. I regret very much to learn 
the serious indisposition of Captain Angus. Please present ray 
respects tu him, and assure him of my best wishes for a speedy 
and perfect recovery. 

It seems that a mail from England has at length arrived at 
Gottenburg, but I have not yet learned if it brought you any 



OF HENRY CLAY. 39 

thing of a decisive character. A letter from Mr. Beasley, of the 
13th May, informs me that Admiral Lord Gambier, Mr. Adams, 
and Mr. Goulbourn, arc the persons who are to meet ns, and 
that the place of the conference would be ascertained the next 
day. 



MR. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

Pari?, July 4, 1811. 

My dear Sir, — I have but little to add to the contents of my 
preceding letters. Mr. Gallatin, and the young gentlemen who 
accompany, or follow immediately after him, will give you the 
ephemeral news of this capital. There is but little doing here 
which can interest an American citizen. 

I am not sanguine in my expectations of peace. If the failure 
of your exertions, to put an end to the war, shall succeed in pro- 
ducing unanimity at home, we shall have no cause to lament 
that failure. I am thoroughly convinced that the United States 
can never be called upon to treat, under circumstances less aus- 
picious than those which exist at the present moment, unless our 
internal bickerings shall continue to weaken the efforts of the 
Government. I sincerely trust that this will not be the case. In 
your letter to Messrs. Gallatin and Bayard, you state that the 
elections in the East had terminated against the Government, 
but by smaller majorities than on the preceding elections. I 
have not yet received any other information upon the subject, 
than what is contained in that letter. There is a chasm in my 
newspapers, -delivered by Mr. Carroll, from the 19th of March to 
the 5th of April. If you can supply this chasm, you will 
greatly oblige me. 

From what I have lately discovered of the councils of this 
nation, and of the temper of the principal maritime states of 
Europe, I am inclined to believe that the time at which they 
may be- disposed to oppose the maritime usurpations of our 
enemy, will be more distant than I had previously imagined. 
At all events, I am fearful that it will be more distant than we 
shall be disposed to prosecute the war, to avoid concessions 
which they will feel as severely as we shall. 

In the prosecution of the war, the great difficulty we shall 
have to encounter, will be the raising of money. The war will 
give us soldiers, and point out the officers qualified to command, 



40 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

but it will neither coin money, or increase our credit. If we 
can get through this campaign without any signal defeat, and 
without the loss of any of our principal commercial cities, and 
can raise for the ensuing year the sums necessary for the prose- 
cution of the war. we shall find ourselves in much more eligible 
circumstances at the close of the next campaign, than we are at 
present. 

I do not look forward with dismay ; I believe we shall rise 
superior to all the difficulties with which we are surrounded. I 
trust we shall live to enjoy many happy celebrations of this anni- 
versary of our national existence. 

Give my best respects to your colleagues, and accept for your- 
self the assurance of my warmest friendship. 

P. S. I will send by Mr. Todd, the passport necessary to 
enable you to come to Paris, after you close your diplomatic 
functions. I repeat my request that you will make my house 
your home, during your residence here. If you wish to take a 
disciple of Pestalozzi with you to the United States, one can be 
obtained. Upon him you can impose the condition of teaching 
the Greek and Latin. You will have, however, to maintain him, 
until he learns English enough to teach. The economy of Switz- 
erland makes this expense very inconsiderable. I have learned 
with s;reat pleasure, from the enemies of the system, that it has 
overcome the prejudices even of the priesthood. 



MR. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

Pahi?, July 0. 1814. 

My dear Sir, — [ acknowledge with much pleasure your very 
interesting letter of the 2d instant, by the hands of Mr. Council. 

It appears that we differ in opinion upon two points. You 
believe that the British Government will not hesitate to make 
peace, leaving the question of impressment wholly out of view. 
You appear also to believe that the events of the present cam- 
paign will have a favorable effect upon your negotiation. I 
sincerely wish you may be right, but I am strongly inclined to 
believe that the result will prove your opinions to be incorrect. 

When I foresaw that peace would probably take place in Eu- 
rope, in the early part of the year, I did not expect lha* tta ^an- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 41 

ner in which the war has terminated would so inflate the 
arrogance of the enemy as it manifestly has done. I thought, 
as you now think, that England would not hesitate Jo make 
■ by waiving the question of impressment. I am even now 
convinced that her interest requires that this course should be 
adopted. There are, however, occasions in which nations, like 
individuals, blinded by some momentary but predominant pas- 
sion, turn a deaf ear to the voice of interest. This I presume to 
be the case with our enemy at the present moment. Various 
facts which have come to my knowledge have led me to believe 
that she will now decidedly reject any proposition which you 
can make, which does not admit the legality of her practice of 
impressment on board American vessels at sea. 

At the moment, however, when I presented to the joint em- 
bassy the idea of making peace, by omitting this question, even 
if your instructions did not literally warrant it, I still believed 
that England would consent to this course. At that time I ex- 
pected the negotiation to open at Gottenburg, about the 1st of 
May. I did not expect that instructions could be received from 
the Government, founded on the recent changes in Europe, be- 
fore the month of August. At the date of my letter to you of 
the 10th ultimo, my opinion of the views of the British Govern- 
ment had in some degree changed, but even then, I expected the 
negotiation to open a month sooner than it probably will. I also 
expected that the change of the seat of negotiations would prob- 
ably postpone the receipt of the instructions expected from the 
United States. These reasons, together with those which arise 
from the expectation of a different result from our military 
operations from that which you entertain, aided by the express 
wish of Mr. Bayard that I should present the question anew to 
you individually, must plead my apology for its intrusion upon 
your attention. 

If there was any rational ground to expect that by a longer 
prosecution of the war we should ultimately succeed in compel- 
ling the enemy to relinquish, by treaty, the practice of impress- 
ment, I would not hesitate to continue the war. I believe there 
is no such reasonable ground of expectation, unless we are dis- 
posed to bequeath this war as a legacy to our sons. 

vF "»P ^ Tl* v!" ^F TT 

The Russian officers now in Paris who have been in Kngland, 
are highly disgusted with that nation. They speak of a war 



42 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

• 

with Austria as certain. In this I think they are mistaken. If 
war breaks out on the continent, I presume England, in her 
present temper, must have a finger in it. In this question, how- 
ever, as she has no resentments to gratify, she will be governed 
by her interest. She will, therefore, be against that power 
which is most commercial, and the destruction of whose com- 
merce will tend most directly to her interest. J 

I must really apologize to you for the length of my letters. 

Present me most respectfully to your colleagues, and accept 
yourself tjie assurance of my most sincere friendship. 

P. S. Mr. Carroll leaves Paris sooner than I expected. I will 
send your passport by Mr. Todd. 

Remember me to the young gentlemen of the mission. 



MR. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, July 19, 1814. 

My dear Sir, — The departure of Messrs. Blanchard and El- 
liot, for Ghent, enables me to send you the passport which I have 
obtained for you. They will be able to give you the ephem- 
eral news of this capital. 

I dined a few days ago in company with the Marquis of Buck- 
inghamshire. We conversed long and freely upon the subject 
of the approaching negotiation. The result of our conversation 
was that there can be no peace. He insists absolutely that the 
question of impressment shall be settled in this treaty, and of 
course, that it shall be settled entirely in their favor. He at- 
tempted to derive their right to take (for he insisted upon drop- 
ping the word impressment, to which I assented) their seamen 
from our vessels, from the law of nations. 



DIPLOMATIC NOTE PROPOSED BY MR. CLAY AT GHENT. 

The undersigned, ministers, etc., have the honor of recalling 
to the attention of his B. M. P. the note of the undersigned of 
the 30th tilt., and to so much of what has passed in the subse- 
quent conferences as is deemed material to the present communi- 
cation. 

In that note they stated that they objected to one of the altera- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 43 

tions proposed T)y tlic B. P. in the first article, and to the modifi- 
cation which they also proposed of the eighth article, of the pro- 
ject which the undersigned had submitted for consideration. 

By the first article of this project, the undersigned had pro- 
posed that there should be a mutual restitution of all territories, 
places and possessions, taken by cither party during the war, with- 
out exception. The alteration in question, proposed by the B. 
P., contemplates a restitution of what belongs to either party. 
The alteration would be free from objection, if there were no 
places in the occupation of either party, which are claimed by 
the other. In that case the execution of the treaty would de- 
pend upon the question of who was the possessor at the mo- 
ment when war was declared. But there are certain islands in 
the Bay of Fundy the title to which -is claimed by both parties, 
and other portions of territory from that bay to the Lake of the 
Woods, the whole line between which is more or less liable to dis- 
pute, and which may by each party be supposed to belong to him. 
For the settlement of the respective pretensions of the two parties 
to those islands, and for other purposes, a mode of decision, sug- 
gested by Great Britain, has been assented to by the undersigned. 

They can not consent to the proposed alteration, first, because 
by constituting each party the sole judge of what belongs to him, 
it makes the restitution to depend upon his uncertain exercise of 
judgment, and not on the precise principle of status before the 
war, on which alone in this respect they have repeatedly stated 
they can treat, and which has been agreed to by Great Britain ; 
and secondly because it is repugnant to the principle on which 
it has been agreed to waive, at this time, the determination of the 
claims of the parties to the disputed islands, and to submit it to 
an impartial tribunal erected for the purpose. These objections 
apply equally to the alteration as proposed in general terms, and 
to the qualification by which it would be limited in its opera- 
tion to the territories in dispute, or to the islands in Passamaquod- 
dy Bay. It may be added that it is further objectionable as sow- 
ing, in the very instrument of pacification, the seeds of au im- 
mediate misunderstanding, the moment it is carried into practical 
execution. 

On the other remaining subject of difference, the undersigned 
must observe that the demand of Great Britain of the navigation 
of the Mississippi, brought forward in the form of a modification 
of the eighth article of the project of the undersigned, was 



44 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

wholly unexpected by them, after the explicit declaration made by 
the British Plenipotentiaries that their Government had no de- 
mands to make other than was contained in their notes of the 

, etc., of which this was not one. As to that modification, 

the undersigned have offered three alternatives, first to strike out 
the article altogether, or to strike out the clause which grants the 
navigation of the Mississippi, or lastly, retaining that clause, to 
place the exercise of the right under restrictions to prevent its 
abuse or perversion, in consideration of the recognition by Great 
Britain of that liberty in the fisheries which she considers abro- 
gated by the war. To either of these alternatives the under- 
signed are yet willing to assent. And it was with some sur- 
prise that they have been made acquainted, by the British Pleni- 
potentiaries, that their Government declines to accept either of 
them, and offers as a substitute for the second, a clause referring 
to a future negotiation the adjustment of the proper equivalent 
to be given by the United States for the enjoyment of the liberty 
to the fisheries referred to ; and of the proper equivalent to be 
given by Great Britain for the navigation of the Mississippi. 

The undersigned can not consent to this substitute because 
it is either useless in itself, in providing for a future negotiation 
which the two governments, without any such provision, will at 
all times, if it be necessary, have it in their power to take up ; or 
because it supposes, what the undersigned have declared their 
Government does not admit, that the liberty in the fisheries al- 
luded to has been lost by the war. 

To a general stipulation, similar to the article of the 

treaty of 1794, the undersigned will not object. 

All other points having been substantially arranged either by 
the correspondence, or in the conferences between the Pleni- 
potentiaries of the two countries, it remains only to dispose of 
the two existing topics of difference to conclude, so far as de- 
pends on the undersigned, a treaty of peace. For this happy 
result it is quite unnecessary to dwell on the testimony which, in 
every stage of the negotiation, they have constantly given of 
their anxious desire. 

[The above note is in Mr. Clay's hand-writing, endorsed by 
him as follows :] 

Proposed by /nr in lieu of the note which ice sent on the lAth 
day of December } 1814, H. 0. 



OF nENRV CLAY. 45 



SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH TO MR. CLAY. 

15 Ore- lay.] orenoon. 

Sir James Mackintosh is so eager to have the honor of Mr. 
Clay's acquaintance that he ventures to request bis company this 
evening, to a small party, when Lady Mackintosh will be most 
happy to receive him, at nine or ten o'clock, with any gentle- 
man of his suite who may be so good as to honor them with 
coming. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

Liverpool, July 14, 1815. 

My Dear Wife, — I expect to embark to-morrow on board the 
Lorenzo, of this port, for New York, and hope to have the pleas- 
ure of seeing you before this letter reaches you. As it is possi- 
ble, however, that I may not, to guard against any accidents 
which may attend me, I inclose yon a copy of a power of At- 
torney (accompanied by a copy of the original certificate) to 
transfer to me $4,444 44, in the 6 per cent, stock of the United 
States. The original of these copies is in my possession. 

Messrs. Baring, Brothers & Co., bankers London, have in 
their hands £201 0s. 9d. sterling of my money. 

On the other side is a memorandum of charges against the 
United States, which are to be brought forward on settlement of 
my account, besides my outfit and salary. 

Dr. the United States to H. Clay, 

To the sum lost by me in the rent of a house from Mr. Pritz, of Gotten- 
burg, for one quarter, and which I occupied only one month ; there re- 
maining two months; Mr. Pritz a jreed to be satisfied with rent for one 

of them (see Mr. Carroll) at sjno per month $200 

To expenses of my journey from Gottenburg to Ghent in consequence of 

the removal of the seat of the negotiation 500 

To newspapers for one quarter, at Gottenburg, (seo Mr. Hall's (recount) . £5 

To newspapers at London £5 

To stationary at Gottenburg and London 26 



MR. ADAMS TO MESSRS. BAYARD, CLAY, RUSSELL AND GALLATIN. 

GnENT, January 17, 1815. 
Gentlemen, — A letter from Mr. Hughes of which I subjoin a 
copy, was received by me this morning. I presume you Avill have 
heard more directly, and before this will reach yon, what were the 



46 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

interruptions or difficulties which delayed his departure so long be- 
yond the time he had anticipated by his former letter, and occa 
sioned the disappointment of which he complains. No inter- 
mediate letter from him has been received. 

I contemplate leaving this city this day week, and hope to 
find a passport from Mr. Crawford at Bruxelles. 

I am with great respect, gentlemen, your very humble and 
obedient servant, John Qxincy Adams. 

[Copt.] Ox Board the Transit, 

6th January, 1815 — Friday, 2 P.M. 

Gentlemen. — I am at last under way ; we are now about 
four leagues from Bordeaux ; I came on board last night, and am 
in hopes that there will be no further interruption or difficulty to 
delay my progress to the United States. I am afraid I shall be 
the second or third herald, in point of time ; yet the news is so 
happy for the country, that in the pleasure of contemplating its 
fine effect at home I lose almost all the mortification of the dis- 
appointment I have suffered. 

I have the honor to be be very respectfully your obedient 
servant, O. Hughes, Jr. 

American Ministers at Ghent. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY.* 

Washington, April 23, 1810. 

Dr. Beatty, — This day was fixed by resolution of the two 
Houses of Congress for its adjournment, but that resolution has 
been rescinded, and the session protracted one week longer. On 
the great subject of our foreign affairs, I believe we shall adjourn 
without adopting any efficient measure. A bill to augment the 
duties fifty per cent, has passed the House of Representatives, 
but I fear, like Macon's bill, it will not be concurred in by the 
Senate. One of its valuable effects, if it passes, will be the en- 
couragement of our manufactures. As the increase is not con- 
templated, however, to be permanent, I should prefer a smaller 
augmentation, and that it should be durable. 

Two committees of the House of Representatives are engaged 

° The remaining letters of this chapter, from Mr. Clay to Judge Beatty, were- 
not received in time for their proper place as to date. 



OF IIENEY CLAY. 47 

in investigating Wilkinson's conduct (who has at length arrived), 
one into the Spanish conspiracy, and the other into the causes 
of the mortality of the army last summer. On this latter subject 
it i s expected a report will be made this session ; upon the other 
a report will hardly be made before the next. 
Howard is appointed Governor of Louisiana. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTT. 

Frankfort, May 31, 1810. 

Dr. Be.vttv, — I received your favor, with the specimen in- 
closed of your merino's fleece, and compared it with one which 
I took from a full-blooded merino of General Mason's, and find 
very little difference between them. If you could send your 
wool, or the yarn, to a manufacturer in Danville, he would make 
yon the best piece of cloth that you could obtain from it. I do 
not recollect his name, but he is an Englishman, accustomed to 
the business, and has undertaken, for Judge Todd, to make him 
a coat which he warrants shall not be inferior to the best im- 
ported cloth in the State. I propose sending mine to him. If, 
however, you prefer having it made in the neighborhood of 
Lexington, there will be no difficulty in getting it wove, fulled, 
etc. 

I am glad to learn that your election to the Legislature is 
deemed certain. Your presence there will be extremely neces- 
sary. I am solicitous for it on various accounts. You will have 
heard that I am no longer a candidate for the Senate, and that 
my successor will consequently be appointed. May not the 
Federalists attempt to rally in support of one of their party ? 
This should be looked to. 

In offering for the House of Representatives, I was influenced 
by a partiality for the station, and by the wishes of some of my 
friends, as well here as to the East. I contemplate, however 
serving out the term for which I am already appointed in the 
Senate, not wishing to give the trouble of supplying my place 
for the ensuing session, and being desirous to prevent the pos- 
sibility of the State being partially represented during a consider- 
able portion of it. 



48 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Lexington, July 27, 1S10. 

Dr. Beatty, — I received your favor of the 24th June. The 
nett yield of our merino (owing to the neglect or fraud of the 
shearer of him) was not sufficient to make me a coat. Mrs. 
Clay therefore determined to have it spun, and either applied to 
other uses, or retained until we could get an additional quantity. 
A Captain M'Call, in this neighborhood, has undertaken to weave 
and full, for Jordan, some yarn spun from the merino wool ; and 
if you can not better dispose of yours, I have no doubt Mr. 
Jordan can procure him to weave and full yours also. 

I learned with pleasure your decision in favor of again offering 
for the Legislature. Your success, I am told, is not doubted. 
The Republican interests will require, and, I am sure, will re- 
ceive your best support. Whether the Federalists will or will 
not attempt a Senator of their own kind depends on the issue of 
the election. I believe Daviess will not be elected here : and 
even Humphrey* dreads the result of the Franklin election. 

P. S. I requested a Mr. Fowke, of Baltimore, to call on you for 
professional aid, which I hope you will afford. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Limestone, March 31, 1818. 

Henry Clay presents his respectful compliments to Mr. Beatty. 
His solicitude to reach home prevents him from having the 
pleasure to see Mr. Beatty, whose favors he ought to have ac- 
knowledged at the city. With every disposition to serve Colonel 
C. B., he regrets his inability to have done so. Under the regu- 
lar establishment of the military there were no vacancies worthy 
liis notice. Under the act for raising twenty thousand infantry 
for the term of one year, when Henry Clay left Washing! on it 
was understood that but one regiment would be allotted to K., 
and the field officers of that regiment were determined upon prior 
to Mr. B.'s application, although not announced. Henry Clay 
could not interfere with the contemplated arrangement. 

Henry Clay paid Mr. Beatty's last year's subscription to the 
" Intelligencer," and was reimbursed before he left K. What is 
due he forgot to pay, but will discharge on his return to the city 
He can add no news to the public prints. 

* Marshall. 



CHAPTER II 



CORRESPONDENCE FROM 1815 TO 1820. 



JAMES MONROE TO MR. CLAY. 

Wasiiixgton, October 30, 1815. 

My dear Sir, — Since the overthrow of France, Russia has 
acquired the highest degree of political importance in relation to 
these States. As a great power, friendly to a liberal system of 
neutral rights, and with whose dominions our commerce had be- 
come considerable, she held, before that event, a distinguished 
rank ; but by it her weight in the general scale has been much 
augmented. Russia forms, in effect, at this time, the principal 
check on the overgrown power of England, on which account, 
and many others, it is immensely the interest of these States to 
cultivate: a good understanding with her sovereign. The Presi- 
dent is desirous of confiding to you a mission to that power, 
and will be much gratified to hear that it will be acceptable to 
you. I write you now that you may be enabled to consider the 
proposition before you leave home, and make the necessary ar- 
rangements for your departure, in case you accept the trust ; 
though you will not infer from this intimation that all due am! 
friendly attention will not be paid to your convenience as to the 
time. 

It would have been very agreeable to the President as well as 
to me, to have had an opportunity of seeing and conferring with 
you on your arrival, but our absence from this city and your 
anxiety to join your family after so long a separation from them, 
were obstacles not to be surmounted. 

In the hope of seeing you soon, I shall reserve for that occa- 
sion comments on other subjects. 

4 



50 PEIYATE CORRESPONDENCE 



THOMAS VAUGHAN TO MB. CL VT. 

Neat; Cardiff, December 1, 1815. 

My good and worthy Sir, — Having seen an account in our 
newspapers of your safe arrival in America, gives me great pleas- 
ure and 1 hope this will meet you in perfect health, and every 
other e mfort. And I now take the liberty of informing 

you that we have received an account from my son's wife. Mrs. 
Vaughan, of his death, so long back as the 5th of April, 1814. 
We have also an account of it from a relation of mine, living 

ir to Upper Bluelick, but on whom (I am sorry to say) we can 
set no dependence at all ; and therefore take the liberty of beg- 
ging that you will be pleased to have the goodness to inquire into 
the state of his (my son's) affairs and property, and, if possible, 
to get for his daughter (now with me from an infant, and thirty- 
two years of age) whatever is right, and justly her due ; as she 
is a good, honest, and industrious young woman, and deserving 
of every justice and encouragement that can be lawfully given 
her ; and your influence will, no doubt, have great weight in 
settling it justly, and we desire no other ; but, by Mrs. Vaughan's 
account, there seems to be but little for her ; and we are at such a 
distance, it is next to impossible for us to see into it ; but 1 know, 
from nil my son's letters, it was his intention to make his daughter 
nearly equal to his son ; and by a letter of his to me, as far back 
as th(.' 20th May, 1807, he referred me to you in case of his 
dcnth (which was the only knowledge I had of his acquaintance 
with you, and the reason I took the liberty of writing to you in 
London), in the following words : " I will request Henry Clay 
of Lexington, Esquire, to give you every information respecting 
ray property, etc., etc. He is one of our Senators, in Congress, 
which is now sitting ; lie is very friendly to me, and, I am 
sine, will do me any reasonable request," etc., etc. 

If you will have the goodness to take the trouble on you to 
get for her what is right and just, and, after deducting for your 
1 will be pleased to remit the remainder, 

directed as under, whenever it may be convenient, will greatly 
oblige me* and my grand-daughter (who begs her respectful 
compliments to you), and am, with deference and respect (al- 
though unknown), your obedieut servant. 

P. S. I .'in sorry we had not the honor of seeing you in Wales, 



OF ill.MIY CLAY. 5] 

as wo made provision for your reception, after we heard, by my 
nephew, of your longer stay in London, and particularly as we 
have the largest iron and tin works in this neighborhood, that 
are in Great Britain, and through all of which I could have con- 
ducted you, and would have been well worth your seeing. I have 
written by this packet to my daughter-in-law at Bluelick, telling 
her I have written to you on the above subject, and also to in- 
vite my grandson over to England, as I should be very glad to 
see him here, for one whole year at least, if I live so long. 

Whenever convenient, I shall be very glad of a few lines from 
you, to hear how matters go, and to give me your proper address, 
as I am at a loss whether to address you as minister, or commis- 
sioner, or as a private gentleman. Your goodness will excuse 
any defects you may meet with in this scrawl, from my age of 
eighty-five years, and want of memory, etc., although I am as 
healthy and as heart-well as ever, blessed be God for that, and all 
his other goodness to me. We are in general very happy to be 
at peace with America in particular, and with the rest of the 
world ; but our farmers and manufacturers complain heavily, the 
former because grain, cattle, horses, etc., sell very low, and the 
latter for want of orders for their wares, etc. Almost every thing 
is lowered very much since you left England, and the surrender 
of Napoleon ; but we are in hopes of our taxes being lowered to 
ease the farmers and trades, and traffic revived with you, and 
with other countries, to relieve our manufacturers. 

I pray God bless you with good health, long life, and every 
other comfort that this uncertain world can give you, are the 
sincere prayers of your unknown friend and humble servant. 



HENRY GOULBURN TO MR. CLAY. 

Dowkimg Stbeet, March f!, 1816. 
My dear Sir, — I am really very much obliged to you for 
your letter of the 7th of January, which I received a short time 
since, both because it has enabled me to relieve the anxiety 
which a friend of mine in this country (Mr. Harris) felt for the 
fate' of the relation to whom it particularly relates, and not less 
because it has a>suivd me that, though situated in so distant a 
quarter of the world, I nevertheless bear a place in your recol- 
lection. 



52 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I had already learned the death of Mr. Bayard before your 
letter reached me, and although I could not but regret the event, 
I was glad that he had at least the satisfaction of seeing his 
family before his death. 

I have to congratulate you on your resumption of the arduous 
and honorable situation which you left in order to meet us al 
Ghent. I trust that this is an evidence that our joint work is 
approved in America. I assure you it is so in England ; and 
whatever may be said in the newspapers on either side of the 
Atlantic, I have little doubt that it will continue to be approved 
by all rational persons. You seem by your papers to be fighting 
the same battle in America that we are fighting here, namely, 
that of putting peace establishments on a footing not unbecoming 
the growth of the population and the empire in which they are 
to be maintained. It is impossible that either country should 
feel any jealousy of the other so long as the augmentation does 
not exceed the necessity of the case, and I have not heard an 
argument any where to prove that it does so exceed in either 
case. From all that I know, I am sure I can take upon me to 
relieve the apprehensions which you seem to entertain of hostile 
movements on the part of this country in any quarter of the 
globe. Newspapers will, on subjects of this kind, propagate any 
intelligence, however false, which is likely to excite an interest 
on the part of their readers, but I am sure you will agree with 
me in thinking it the duty of every man to avoid giving the 
authority of his belief to any of the rumors which they so con- 
vert for their own purposes into facts. 

Yv hen you see Mr. Gallatin, may I beg you to present to him 
my best respects, and if at any time I can be of any service to 
you or to him in this country, I trust you will have no hesitation 
in commanding me, for I can assure you that nothing could give 
me greater pleasure. 



JAMES MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

MoNTPBUKE, August oO, 1816. 

Dear Sir, — Mr. Dallas seems to have made up his mind to 

retire early in October from the department in his hands, and the 

event may draw after it a vacancy in the War Department. 

^ ill you permit me to avail our country of your services in the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 53 

latter? It will be convenient to know your determination as 
soon as you have formed it, and it will bo particularly gratifying 
if it assent to my request. 



MR. CLAY TO MR. MADISON. 

AsntAND, September 14, 1816. 
Dear Sir, — The last mail brought me the letter which you 
did me the honor to write on the 30th ultimo, staling your ex- 
pectation of a vacancy in the Department of War, and commu- 
nicating your wish that I would take upon myself the discharge 
of the duties of that office. Several considerations appear to me 
to require that I should decline accepting the honor which your 
favorable opinion has tendered. I regret the necessity of this 
decision the less, as I hope that you will fill the place equally 
agreeably to yourself, and I am sure more advantageously to the 
public interest. I pray you, however, to believe that I shall 
always entertain the highest sense of this new proof of your 
confidence, and that, with the greatest respect and esteem, I am 
your obedient servaut. 



JAMES MONROE TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, March 4, 1817. 

Sir, — I had the honor to receive your letter of yesterday last 
night, advising me that the chamber of the House of Represent- 
atives would be put, by the officers of the House, in a condition 
to receive me to-day, for the purpose of taking the oath pre- 
scribed by the Constitution for the President of the United States. 
I have hastened to transmit the communication to the Chairman 
of the Committee of the Senate, and I beg you to accept my 
acknowledgment for your polite attention. 



LOUD GAMBIER TO MR. CLAY. 

Iter Geovk, January 20, 1S18. 
My dear Sir, — I had much satisfaction in receiving your let- 
ter of the Gth November, by the hand of Mr. Bu . from w 
and from Mr. Mills, I had the pleasure of hearing of your health 



54 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

and welfare. I return you many thanks for the kind and oblig- 
ing terms in which you are so good as to express yourself to- 
ward me, and can with great truth assure you it would afford 
me much gratification if the course of events should approxi- 
mate us so that I could have the pleasure of your society, and 
avail myself of any opportunity that might offer by which I 
could evince m'y regard and esteem personally for you. I hope 
Messrs. Burgess and Mills received every necessary assistance 
and kindness from the several .persons, Mr. Wilberforce and 
others, to whom they were introduced, toward the object of 
their benevolent undertaking. I regret their short visit to this 
country deprived me of the pleasure of performing any kind 
offices of hospitality and respect that their own characters give 
them claim to, and which would have been gratifying to me to 
show to any person in whose interest you take a part. 

If Mr. Adams should be near you when this comes to your 
hand, I will beg of you to communicate my best regards to 
him. 

With every cordial wish for your health and prosperity, I re- 
main, my dear sir, in great respect, your faithful and most hum- 
ble servant. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

House of Representatives, April 1C>, 1818. 

Mv dear Sir, — In great haste I have to acknowledge the re- 
ceipt of your favor of the 13th March. Walker would undertake 
to explore your lands, and report to you particularly their situa- 
tion, quality, and value. He would charge for the service, only 
his expenses, that is to say, about $2 per day, for twelve or 
fifteen days. He is a man of perfect integrity, and may be 
relied on for such an undertaking. When I spoke, in a former 
letter, of him, I ilid not mean to imply any question of his ve- 
racity, but merely to convey the idea, thai he was a laughing, 
talking, good-natured sort of a fellow, who might express him- 
self somewhat at random, unless he knew precision to be neces- 

y. 

He himself recommends Daniel Ashley at Madisonville as a 
'ii on whom you may rely to report the desired information. 
Major Walker's address is "David Walker, Russellville, Ky." 



OF HENRY CLAY. 55 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Washington, April 21, 1818. 

Dear Sib, — The contemplated < is in the judicial estab- 

lishment of the United States, were not made during the ses 
of Congress just terminated. The opinion that these chi 
arc necessary acquires daily additional strength; and I think 
there is reason to helieve that they will he effected at the next 
session. 

I am glad to learn that there exists a prospect of doing some- 
thing towards turnpiking in Kentucky. I shall be very happy 
to co-operate with you in an object so worthy of the utmost 
exertions. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, July 25, 1818. 

Dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 9th. You mention 
that you have thought of becoming a candidate for the Senate, 
and. justly viewing me as one of your friends, you have asked 
my opinion. 

In the first place, I beg leave to state that I have always felt 
a most lively and sincere interest in your welfare, and that it 
would give me, personally, much satisfaction to see you in the 
situation suggested. With respect to your prospect of success I 
am not a very good judge, having been so much of late years 
out of the State, and therefore knowing but little of the weight 
and standing of different individuals. I hinted at the subject to 
Barry, who seemed to think that, living in one extreme of the 
State, however much esteemed there, you were probably hardly 
well enough known at the other to count with any certainty U] 
your success. I did not mention it to Breckcinidge, because I 
am quite sure that he proposes to himself the career of polit; : 
and I have heard, though not from him, nor from any one that 
as far as I know, was authorized by him, that he is looking him- 
self to the situation. I should think the event would greatly d 
pend upon the persons who might happen to be your comp< 
Should Colonel Johnson offer, (he has been talked of, with what 
authority from himself I know not,) or perhaps Breckenridge, 
you would probably fail. 

I will now give you, in the frankness which is due from the 



56 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

friendship I feel for you. my opinion. I do not think yon ought 
to accept the situation, if you had a moral certainty of getting it. 
Although comfortable in your pecuniary condition, you arc not 
rich, and you have a growing family. Instead of making addi- 
tions to your fortune, you would most probably make annual sub- 
tractions from it, during your service. For if your pay should 
cover your expenses, while absent from your family, affairs would 
go on less profitably at home than they do now. Such, at least, 
is my experience ; and such I believe to be in the nature of 
things. Congress, too, has greater attractions at a distance than 
near. After the novelty wears off (which it commonly does in 
the course of two or three months), the interest which was at 
first felt is diminished, if not extinguished, with most of those, 
at least, who are not perfectly at their ease in their circumstances, 
or who arc not in pursuit of place, and are willing to venture 
every thing on getting it, or, lastly, those few individuals whose 
great attainments give them a high degree of prominence in the 
body and in the nation. 

With respect to yourself (I write, you see, with the frankness 
and freedom which you have invited,) your talents are of the 
most respectable kind ; but they are better adapted to the career 
which you have been wisely pursuing than to that of politics. 
While you would never fail to speak sensibly, your elocution 
would not perhaps procure for you that high degree of eminence 
which I am sure you would be ambitious of reaching. Besides, 
you have great reason to expect promotion in the judiciary of 
either the State or the United States, when vacancies shall occur. 
While judicial appointment might also be acquired in the situa- 
tion to which we refer, it is perhaps not so direct a road to it as 
by a faithful and enlightened discharge of the duties of your 
ice. There is, moreover, always some risk (and it is 
greater as we are more advanced in life) in quitting an occupation 
with which one is familiar, and entering upon another with which 
he is l< ss conversant. The intimate alliance between law and 
politics, and the habit which is so common in our country of 
participating in the consideration of iis political affairs, diminishes 
but docs not entirely remove this objection. 

I have given you my candid sentiments. Your own better 
judgment will, at last, guide you, as it ought ; and that you may 
be successful and prosperous, however you may decide, is my 
sincere wish. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 57 

[In pursuance of the advice of Mr. Clay, I concluded to r 
my judicial station, and therefore declined becoming a candidate 
for the Senate of the United States. A. B.] 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagkavge, October 20, 1818. 

My dear Sir, — The letter of which Mr. Newcomb was the 
bearer, is the last communication I have had from you. Permit 
me to solicit a more frequent correspondence. In this exchange 
of information you may be a loser as I now am returned to a 
private, solitary life, and can hardly write any thing but what 
you will collect from European papers. Indeed the gazettes of 
France, shackled as they are, to such a reader as you, may tell, 
and even foretell a great deal. 

The French, or rather the European revolution, had raised 
against us the passions and the exertions of Coblentz and Pil- 
nitz. In subsequent excesses, although it had put a stop to pros- 
elytism, it did not so generally operate abroad as the ambitious 
despotism of Napoleon who estranged from France the specula- 
tive love of freedom, and roused against her the masses of the 
people, our natural allies. In that situation of universal oppres- 
sion and enmity, Bonaparte did twice squander away the moral 
and military resources of this nation, first in Russia, afterward, 
at Dresden, and Leipsic, and brought in the hosts of the coa- 
lition, leaving on the Nicinen, the Oder, and the Elbe, the ma- 
terial means of defense which he had taken from our stores and 
fortresses. He capitulated for himself, while a restoration ush- 
ered by the Allies, and not unpleasing to the nation, was gener- 
ally considered as a tolerable transaction between old princes 
and modern institutions. A month had sufficed to prepare 
the people for a change. It was impossible for any combina 
but the folly of the royal Government, to make Bonaparte 
welcome, which proved to be the case with many, although 
few could love and trust him. But these interior vicissitudes 
were of no effect upon foreign courts and foreign nations. The 
latter, having no time to explain, were hurried again against 
their own interest, with revengeful and desperate fury. The 
courts were the more eager to avail themselves of their oner, as 
they saw that Napoleon, unable to reassume his arbitrary doc- 



58 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

trines. had been forced to acknowledge the first principles of the 
Revolution. 

Two modes of resistance were left for France, to launch out 
of the imperial circle of men and measures into a national insur- 
rection : or to support the actual ruler who, although he was a 
check upon the exertions of a people whom he did no more 
trust than he could be trusted by them, w T as justly reckoned the 
ablest of generals, and enjoyed the confidence of a standing 
army amounting to two hundred thousand men. The active 
majority having prcfered this method, it remained for those who 
would have proposed a bolder and more popular system, to slide 
in with the adopted plan of defense, which was done with can- 
dor and determination. 

Two weeks after the opening of the session, Napoleon had 
lost the only army that bore a proportion with the opposed 
forces, and leaving it to its fate, he flew back to the national 
representation, not to consult, but to dissolve it, recurring to a 
wild and desperate arbitrariness which, while it countenanced 
the attack, could not but damp and dishearten the defense. He 
was checked in the attempt, and with the assent of his best 
friends, obliged to abdicate. 

Time was short. An attempt to raise some sort of pudeur in 
the Allies, and construe their word of honor into a suspension 
of arms proved fruitless. In the mean while the troops being 
rallied under the walls of the capital, more divested of Bona- 
partism, more actuated by patriotism than they had been said to 
be, were all alive to national colors and national independence. 
On my return from the diplomatic errand which I could not re- 
fuse, I was much disappointed to hear of the capitulation. The 
provisory Government and peers dissolved themselves. The 
House of Representatives were dissolved by force, but not be- 
fore they had, in their declaration of the 5th of July, exprc 
what I think to have been for five-and-twenty years the true 
sense of the nation. 

i urther resistance to foreign powers was impeded. The 
President of the popular Government was a minister of the King 
before he had entered Paris. The imperial system of adminis- 
tration having been, during thirteen years, calculated for absolute 
monarchy had precluded the means of exertion. A Royal Gov- 
ernment being reinstalled in the capital, many trusted its influ- 
ence with the Allies, those who did not were afraid the impend- 



OF HENRY CLAY. Bfl 

ing evils should be imputed to their obstinacy. And above all, 
the high powers, made a more Machiavelian use of the K ; 
name and hand successively to undo all the means of French 
resistance, after which you know what treaty has been dictated 
by them. 

Two administrations have been tried. That of Talleyrand and 
Fouclir. although the former had solicited and signed the coali- 
tion of Vienna, and the second put his name to the proscription 
of many of bis associates and friends, and to the suppression of 
the liberty of the press, was not thought a match for the royal- 
ism of the two new chambers. The present ministry, the head 
of which, although for twenty-five years a Russian officer, is a 
Frenchman by birth, the last of the illustrious family of Riche- 
lieu, and among whom our friend Barbi Marbois is seal-kc 
have gone great lengths toward the spirit of reaction. You have 
in the papers the bills proposed by them, and their speeches in 
both Houses, which, nevertheless, keep ahead of the Executive. 
Among the influencing powers you may distinguish a British 
and a Russian interest, to both of which I am, thank God, a 
perfect stranger. 

Unfit as I shall ever be for such complicated politics, and hav- 
ing, in my doctrines of legitimacy, much to say for the rights 
of men and the sovereignty of nations, I am returned to my 
retirement of Lagrange, and my agricultural pursuits. Here my 
son. his wife, two daughters, and eleven grandchildren, are now 
with me. We expect in a few days the pleasure to receive Gen- 
eral Scott and Major Mercer. 

The happy tidings we receive of increasing prosperity in the 
United States, fdl my heart with delight. I hope the work of 
liberty and independence in the other parts of America, is going 
on, and am I to be discouraged with respect to the final establish- 
ment of freedom in the European world ? The liberal part of 
the Revolution shall not be lost. 

You have been pleased, my dear sir, to promise your kind 
inquiries and good care with respect to my Orleans bush: 
The Pointe Coupee lands have been purchased by Sir John < ' 
hill. Mr. Seymour, and the parish. The two former gentlemen 
complain that M. Duplansier, by refusing to answer some ques- 
tions relative to a land tax. has exposed their property to be 
sold. They were ignorant of the duty. I hastened to writ 
the President and explain their situation. 



60 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

There remain five hundred and twenty acres to be located, or 
I rather think, located in the vicinity of the town. Under the 
pressure of my affairs I have parted with one half of those town 
lots to Sir John, whose large capital, being employed on his 
alternate lots, would soon bring my share to a value much supe- 
rior to the actual totality. Should the location be at a distance 
of more than two miles, the space between the bayou and the 
town, it becomes a common tract and the whole would have 
been paid above its value. In the contrary case, one half is 
mine. It is true, Sir John might challenge me to take back 
this half for the given price and interest. But if the location 
was made on the spot, I would, I think, easily find a capitalist 
to take Sir John's bargain. Let me add that he is willing, in 
case there was not room for a location of five hundred and twen- 
ty acres, to enter into some arrangements with the claimants, to 
make it complete. Such is, my clear sir, as far as I know it, 
the present state of the affair. M. Duplansier, who has been 
very unfortunate in his own concerns, has not, for several years, 
written to me. M. Allen Michel had the powers of Sir John 
who has since, I believe, sent a relation of his. The President, 
to whose kind concern in my behalf, I am highly obliged, knows 
probably more of my affairs than myself. 

This letter will be delivered by Mr. Lakanal, member of the 
French Institute of the Academy, and Rector General of the Med- 
ical System witli a handsome treatment, all which he abandons 
for a settlement in the neighborhood of Lexington, State of 
Kentucky. The high rank he holds in the scientific world, and 
his having been a distinguished member of our former assem- 
blies will recommend him to your notice. But I have presumed 
to engage in your name you would favor him with your good 
advice, and witli letters of introduction to the country which 
he intends to inhabit. I know you will be so kind as to render 
him in that way, the services which I beg leave to solicit on 
account of his own merit and my earnest desire to oblige him. 
Permit me to depend upon you to ask the same favor from our 
friends, Mr. Monroe, and Crawford, and others who may recom- 
mend him to public and private characters in the State. 



OF HENRY CLAY. Gl 



MH. CLAY TO ADAM BE ATT Y. 

Washington, January 22, 1820. 

Dear Sir, — I received your obliging favor of the 10th inst., 
from Frankfort, and thank yon for the friendly feelings toward 
me of which it furnishes the evidence. On the subject of the 
next Governor I had communicated my views, prior to the re- 
ceipt of your letter, to several friends at Frankfort, from whom 
you must have learned them before you left that place. I have 
regretted exceedingly my inability to conform to the "wishes of 
those whose kindness has made them look to me for that office. 

I am glad to find that the course which it seems to me fitting 
for this country to pursue, in respect to Spanish affairs, meets with 
your concurrence. The extraordinary one recommended by the 
President excited much surprise in Congress, and has, I think, 
very few of that body disposed to adopt it. The general em- 
barrassments throughout the country, the deficit in the Treasury, 
and other causes, have communicated their influence to Congress, 
and produced the cifect of great repugnance to war and to any 
augmentation of the national expenditure. Add to which the 
various alternatives which the failure of Spain to ratify the treaty 
presents to our choice, and I should not be surprised if the result 
should he that Congress will do nothing on Spanish affairs, but 
leave them where it found them. I should regret this very much, 
because I think it would be precisely the result most gratifying 
to Spain. 

At present Spanish affairs, manufactures, and every other mat- 
ter of public concern, have given way to the Missouri question, 
which engrosses the whole thoughts of the members, and con- 
stitutes almost the only topic of conversation. It is a most un- 
happy question, awakening sectional feelings, and exasperating 
them to the highest degree. The words, civil war, and disunion, 
are uttered almost without emotion, and a Senator of the United 
States, in his place, as I understand, said the other day that he 
would rather have both than fail in the resolution. I witnessed 
yesterday a display of astonishing eloquence, in the Senate, on 
the part of Mr. Pinkney of Indiana against the restriction. In 
that body the majority is with us; in the House of Representa- 
tives it is doubtful. 

I think nothing will be done by Congress respecting the cur- 
rency. 



62 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Pahis, June 9, 1821. 

My dear Sir. — Permit me to entreat your kind welcome and 
good advice in behalf of M. Pctte and M. Menardi, who are going 
to settle in the State of Ohio. Their partner, M. La Barthe, 
ly fixed near New Athens, and there enjoys the freedom 
which old Athens now struggles to obtain. Oar cause has been 
unfortunate in Italy, but can not fail ultimately to prevail. Euro- 
pean liberty chiefly depends on the interior politics of France. 
T hope our American newspapers take their paragraphs from the 
" Constitutionnel/' the '-Courier," or at least the semi-official 
"Moniteur," in what relates to the debates of the Chamber of 
Deputies ; all the other journals make it a point to disfigure them 
scandalously. Where M. Pette and M. Menardi will find you I 
do not know, but am sure you will have the goodness to give 
them all the advice and recommendation in your power. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Albany, January 29, 1822. 

Dear Sir, — I arrived two days ago at this place, where not 
only the members of our Legislature, but most of the active po- 
litical talent and mischief of the State are now congregated. I 
e not, during this period, been inattentive to the great ques- 
tion that at present engages the speculations of the politicians 
throughout the Union, and I think I do not deceive you when I say 
that your prospects here are highly flattering. You are probably 
aware that some six or eight months ago there was a partial un- 
tanding and commitment among some of our most active 

politicians in favor of Mr. C d, and it is to this class that my 

conversations and views have been principally directed. Many 
of them are n<>w ready to change their ground, and even the 
most zealous are willing to lie still at present, and eventually to 
be governed by future and clearer indications of public sentiment 
on this subject 

You will see Mr. Van Buren in Washington, and I beg you to 
pay him some attention. I am decidedly of opinion that he will 
yet be for you. His best and strongest friends here are so, and 



OF HBNBT CLAY. 03 

I know that his own views have been essentially changed since 
last spring. He will not, I presume, avow his preference of any 
candidate during the present session of Congress, and perhaps it 
is desirable that lie should not. Be civil also to Rochester of 
our State, who is a very clever young man, and strongly your 
id. A rumor is in circulation here thai you and D. Clinton 
are playing in concert, and that yon and he will run on the same 
ticket. I need not tell you that such a rumor, once beli 
would prostrate all your hopes here. The recent, and all but 
unanimous, rejection of the Clintonian judges by our Senate, 
shows the temper of the State in regard to that class of politi- 
cians. Can you with propriety say something in a letter to me 
on the subject of this supposed coalition which I may show con- 
fidentially to two or three persons? It might be attended with 
good consequences. Noah, the Advocate man, is now here. I 
have had several conversations with him, and although his pre- 

dclcctions are still for Mr. C d, his zeal and confidence have 

greatly abated. He finds that the State is not disposed to go 
with him, and expresses a willingness to be quiet, until the senti- 
ments of the old republican party shall be more fully developed. 



JOSE M. DEL REAL TO MR. CLAY. 

Bordeaux. February 23, 182-2. 

Sir, — Both by honor of my country and duty of friendship, I 
think myself obliged to make over to posterity the image of 
Den Josef M. Garcia de Toledo, my particular friend, and the 
first defender of the rights of his country, and as I was favored 
with the honor of your acquaintance in London, and convinced 
as I am of a great deal of interest you lay hold of for the liberty 
and independence as well as for all that belongs to the glorious 
revolution of South America. I take the liberty of sending you 
six stamps of his portrait, which I entreat you to have the 
goodness of accepting as an acknowledgment of my duty t>> 
you. 

After a few days I shall embark to Carthagena, where, if it is 
in my way to render you any service, I should be very glad to 
be honored with your commands. 



64 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



R. M. JOHNSON* TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, April 1, 1822. 
Dear Sir. — I have soon the President, who has again assured me 
that he would get Mr. Wirt to re-examine your claim, and he will 
bring the thing to a close. I see that Fielder has republish* 
piece from the -' Franklin Gazette," in favor of Mr Calhoun, and 
some letters from our friends who dislike his course. I do not 
know his motive in doing this. I have not written a word to 
him on the subject of the next President. I saw a letter of his 
to Mr. Johnson, in which he says he is for you. It is very pos- 
sible that some of your particular friends may think that as I am 
intimate with him, I may have some influence in this respect, 
and knowing the disposition with some, to place every thing to 
my account, I hope you will not only believe me incapable of 
promoting any thing unfavorable to you, but whenever a differ- 
ent sentiment is communicated or hinted to you, my feelings 
may be explained. I intend, in this business, to keep a straight- 
forward course, and while I consider it my duty to be on terms 
of personal friendship with others, if I find it reciprocal, no 
person shall doubt my course where I can be of any service 
to you. 



"TURBIDE TO MR. CLAY. 

Mexico, May C, 1S2'2. 
My dear Sir, — Through the means of the captain of the 
navy, Don Eugenio Cortes, I have been informed of the great 
services by which you have furthered the success of his com- 
ion, and contributed to the prosperous advantages that 
resulted from it ; this generous course, the fruit of this enlight- 
! age, excites my gratitude, and obliges me to give you my 
most sincere thanks, and offer you my friendship ; for this phi- 
lanthropic conduct that emanates from a liberal education, and 
whose end is the civilization of nations, though it relates to the 
whole Mexican Empire, if its success should be in proportion to 
its promise, I offer you the gratitude which is due to you by all, 
and my most particular thanks for the present of books, and for 
the value you set on my portrait. In exchange for it, I am 
waiting for yours, which is announced by our common friend 
Cortes, and without seeing it, it gives me a satisfaction, from that 



OF HENBY CLAY. 65 

common effect which can not be explained, in which men recip- 
rocally love without knowing each other, in which the mind 
forms favorable pr< possessions, and gives to the person (for so it 
delights in), as many virtues as it pleases, takes for true what it 
conjectures, and goes so far as to give to the portrait ex] i 
and gestures. But our case is different from this — your works 
are distinguished, my correspondence is a debt of justice to th ir 
merit, and I promise myself the continuance of duties so praise- 
worthy, and protest to render you the same in like circumstances. 



EUGENIO CORTES TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, June 19, 1822. 
The Honorable Henry Clay: 

I have the honor to deliver to you the inclosed letter from 
the supreme chief of the Mexican Empire, who directed me to 
present it to you personally, as a testimony of the gratitude, es- 
teem, and distinction, which the supreme chief of the Mexican 
nation entertains for the virtues, talents and services displayed 
by you in favor of the just cause sustained by all the States of 
South America, to gain their independence. 

This occasion affords me the opportunity of offering to you 
my respects, and of assuring you that I am your most faithful 
obedient servant. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Black Rock, July S, 1822. 
Dear Sir, — It has been the misfortune of this State, that for 
a number of years past, its political concerns have been man- 
aged, or rather distracted, by a few ambitious men, whose views 
have extended only to their own personal aggrandizement, and 
on almost every great national question, our strength has been 
scattered and wasted by premature and unadvised commitment.', 
made by these headlong and selfish politicians. As regards the 
interesting question which is the subject of your letter, a new 
and more circumspect course of proceeding has been adopted. 
A mutual understanding now exists among the principal repub- 
licans of the State, that it is yet too early to act on this ques- 
tion, and that, whatever may be the private sentiments and pre- 
dilections of individuals, it would be imprudent at present to 

5 



QQ PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

promulgate them. Whenever the proper time shall arrive (and 
perhaps the next winter session of our Legislature may be se- 
I ict( I such), a full and friendly consultation and interchange 
.its will take place, and we are not without hopes of 
ing, by tl a unanimity that will insure to this 

S ite (what it has never possessed), an influence proportioned to 
i's re] station and wealth. Whoever may be the candidate fairly 

ignatcd by the majority, I shall consider myself bound, as a 
re] ' i, to give him my support. I have indeed been one 
of the advisers of this cautious and circumspect policy, because 
I have deemed it the wisest that this State, under present cir- 
cumstances, could pursue. If we had a favorite candidate in 
one of our own citizens, it would afford a fair apology for our 
taking the field early, but we have none, and you are aware of 
the jealousy that exists, particularly at the South, against the 
growing power of th< it State of Neio York, and if we 

were to manifest our solicitude, by making an early selection, 
that very circumstance might weaken the chance of our candi- 
date, and perhaps throw him into a minority. 

The Republicans of this State have been so often and shame- 
fully deceived and abused by the professed friendship vll 
q hostility of the opposite party, that the first requisite in 
1 their candidate will be, that he be a Republican of the old sclur •'. 
and I know of no one who. in addition to so many other splendid 
qualifications, can better sustain the integrity of this character, 
than my friend from Kentucky. 

T expect to see a number of my political friends at my house 
during the summer, and among them, Mr. Van Buren, of the 
Senate. The subject of the next Presidency will of course be 
canvassed, and I will, in a future letter, give youmyimpi •.-.■ ions 
in regard to the prevailing views of the Republicans of this 
State. 

Mrs. P. is in excellent health, and desires her best respects to 
you. 



I.ANGnON CIIEVES TO MB. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, July '27, 1822. 
My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 5th instant was duly re- 
ceived. f have put your brother in nomination, and his and 
your wish will be duly and respectfully considered. The ap- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 67 

pointments for the Orleans office will be made on the 27th 
vember next, at which time I will be merely nominally an offic< r 
of the hank, as I have determined to leave it a few weeks after. 
I perceive yon are again a candidate for C is, in which I 

suppose you are right. Thi ,. f question seems to be but little 
..led yet. You will perceive from the "Sentinel" of this 
city, which is one of the oracles of the democratic party in this 
part of the State — the " Franklin Gazette" is the other — that 
there is a schism among the active men. The " Sentinel" ap- 
pears to incline to Crawford. New York appears to be completely 
undecided, and apparently asking for an offer ; but I really know 
nothing about it, and hear little. 



PATRICK HENRY TO MR. CLAY. 

August 21, 1822. 

Dear Sir, — You must make Clinton President, which, with 
your force and talents, public and private, you can accomplish. 
He has pretensions in every respect — a man of business, is bold 
and honorable — an elegant scholar — deeply read — liberal alto- 
gether in his ideas. He would return the favor with fidelity. 
He has no sneaking, tricky vices. You would be the next 
President, from character, pretensions, experience, and, coming 
from the West, you would he expected and attended to by the 
nation. You would be Vice-President or Secretary of State. 
The former would keep you out of turmoil and responsibility, 
and | erhaps he the safest place. You would be happy in it, hon- 
ored and supported by every body. 

Clinton has name, fame, talents, and useful and lasting honors 
to sustain him for any or in any station he may fill. It would 
be worthy of Clay and Kentucky to join New York and Clinton 
in so glorious a career in saving the Union. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Pabib, Novembers, 1822. 
My dear Siu, — I am too happy in an opportunity to keep <'iir 
friendly acquaintance, and would be still happier to com 
with y>u on the business of freedom, as it relates to both sides 



68 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of the Atlantic. You have had the pleasure, in which I was long 
ago ready to sympathize, of the acknowledgment of Columbian 
independence by the United States. May every part of that 
continent be also free, independent, and universally acknowl- 
edged ! It is to be expected the nonsense of an American em- 
peror can not last long. But while I rejoice in the emancipation 
of what was called the Spanish dominion, while I lament the 
hesitation of the Cortes in the acknowledgment which policy and 
necessity point ont to them. I would be very sorry to hear of a 
serious quarrel between Spain and the United States. The em- 
bers of European freedom are now to be cherished in the penin- 
sula. Old Governments, England particularly, employ a great 
deal of cunning in fomenting divisions among the nations, and 
in every nation among the parties, nay, the individuals who en- 
list in the cause of mankind. Their friendship is almost as bad 
as their enmity. The British papers, Whig and Tory, seem to 
vie in recommending an intervention, under the form of protec- 
tion, in the affairs of this very Greece against whom Great Brit- 
ain and Austria have acted so cruel and dishonorable a part. 
How happy should I be to see an American squadron in those 
seas ! The American flag should be the natural, disinterested 
protector for the Grecian confederacy. Should the Ottoman 
navy prove impertinent, it might be crushed at once. A Grecian 
citizen who has left Corinth with orders from the Federal Gov- 
ernment, tells me that two millions of dollars, two ships of the 
line, or three or four large frigates, could they obtain that sum 
and naval means from mercantile enterprise, would suffice to in- 
sure the liberties of that classic country. It is to be feared the 
assistance will be either withheld or lent with interested views, 
if not under degrading conditions. The decisions of the Vienna 
Congress are every day expected. While a common antipathy 
to the rights of men and nations link them together, the old sys- 
tems and potent views of each Cabinet interfere with the general 
plan of the Holy Alliance. The situation of France under its 
counter-revolutionary Government is better understood by a 
series of intelligences lately collected from the papers of both 
parties, than I could explain in a letter. An actual invasion of 
Spain by foreign troops may be postponed from the fear of unit- 
ing the whole people in the defense of the country : but every 
countenance and protection will more and more be ail'orded to 
the enemies of the Constitution ; and if the patriots are driven 



OF HENRY CLAY. M 

to excesses, in consequence of their provoked irritation it will 
become a pretense against them, against the liberals of every 
country, and the cause itself, much depends on the spirited re- 
sistance of Spain in the present crisis. 

I have been requested by my former aid-de-camp in the na- 
tional guards, and constant friend. M. de la Rue, to mention to 
you a claim of his lady, Beaumarchais' daughter, now under the 
examination of Congress. Their wish is that the affair may be 
referred to a judicial, I suppose the Supreme Court. It does not 
belong to me to decide on the propriety of the measure, nor the 
circumstances of the claim, further than to say, I have been a wit- 
ness to very active exertions of Beaumarchais in the first period of 
our American contest ; but I owe it to these remembrances, and to 
my affection for M. de la Rue, to make to you the mention of this 
affair, very important to him and family. It appears that Ameri- 
can claims upon France are on the point of being examined in 
this country. I much wish justice may be rendered on all sides. 

I have often the pleasure to talk of you with two amiable 
friends of ours. Miller and Wright, who are now in France, and 
most of the time in our family colony of Lagrange. 



B. W. LEIGH TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, November 9, 1822. 

My dear Sir, — I had the happiness to receive your letter of 
the 29th October this morning, and I am heartily thankful to 
you for it. It was the more welcome, as it served to assure me 
of the re-establishment of your health. The newspapers repre- 
sented you, some weeks ago, as very dangerously ill ; and one 
of them killed you outright — which your distant friends regard 
as a very unpardonable abuse of the freedom of the press. 

It was considerate and kind in you to send me your report of 
our arrangements to the Legislature of Kentucky — the more so 
since I must plead guilty to the charge of having broken my 
promise to write to you on my return home. The truth is. that 
when I got home, I had to write so many loiters which I was 
obliged to write, that I soon came to a conclusion to write none 
but such as were absolutely indispensable. I trust to yonr own 
experience in like cases to estimate l! th of this apology. 

As to yourself in particular. I shall take this occasion to say, 



70 PEIVATE COBEESPONDENCE 

that there was no part of your conduct in regard to the peculiar 
state of your local politics (and I was very observant of it all), 
which impressed me with such high respect, and excited so warm 
a sentiment of approbation, us the constant effort I saw you mak- 
ing to impress it upon all parties, that there was no desperation 
either in the distemper of the State, or in the remedies that had 
been applied, and that it behooved all men to treat them both with 
patience, temper, and moderation, as well as frankness and 
steadiness. 

Tell my friends in Kentucky that I remember them as I ought. 
Have the goodness to present my best respects to Mrs. Clay. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Columbus, Oino, January S, 1S23. 

My dear Sir, — You will have seen a note which I addressed 
to the editors of the " Intelligencer," on the subject of the busi- 
ness of Ghent. I wish to say one word to you on it. To those 
who have attentively read the controversial papers between 
Messrs. Russell and Adams, and particularly the appendix to the 
book of the latter, it must be apparent that the honorable secre- 
tary has labored to draw me into the controversy, by the manner 
in which he has alluded to my name, and the inconsistency 
which, on one occasion, he imputes to me. I had but one al- 
ternative, either to acquiesce, by my silence, in all misrepresenta- 
tions ; or, by a sort of protest, to reserve to myself the right of 
correcting errors on some future fit occasion. I might, indeed, 
have rushed into the controversy between those two gentlemen, or 
commenced a new one ; but I hope my friends will believe me 
incapable of committing such an indiscretion, as I conceive that 
would be, of doing at this time the one or the other. T chose 
tin- latter because of the alternative stated, and I hope you will 
approve of the step I have taken. My purpose is answered, my 
ground is taken, and those who know me will not want to be 
assured that I will adhere to both. I shall write no more until 
I think the period has arrived which I have indicated. Tbe 
hoin secretary is to depl its possible distance. I 

shall remain unmoved by any regrets he mv ' I on account of 
the want of fresh alii f r new strife. 

The newspap irs will communicate to you the events which 



OF I1K.NKV CLAY. 71 

have occurred here. As they chose to have a second cauci J 
was glad it took place before I reached Columbus. Considering 
the great efforts made from without to prevent any legislative 
expression of public opinion, the proof which is afforded by the 
• here is extremely strong. My friends believe thai fr< m 
htyto ninety out of the one hundred and three members, who 
compose the General Assembly, are in my favor ; and there is 
among the former the greatest zeal, animation, and confidence. 

I am anxious to learn the names of your commissioners. Ex- 
pecting to reach Washington by the 22d instant, I shall be glad 
to have the pleasure of hearing from you on my arrival there. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 31, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — I have received your obliging favor of the 
29th instant. The considerations were so many and so power- 
ful, calling upon your State to ratify the convention with Ken- 
tucky, that I confess to you frankly I did not anticipate the 
event which you say will probably happen. In that event 1 
shall deeply regret that Virginia ever again opened the negotia- 
tion, after respecting the professions which Mr. Bibb and I sub- 
mitted to your Legislature last winter. Why did Virginia ask 
a reference of the claim of her State limit ? Could she suppose 
that Kentucky would refer it and leave herself exposed, after the 
decision of the referees, to the claim, as if it had never been 
submitted to arbitration ? Could she think that the mockery of 
creating a tribunal was to be presented to decide a controv 
respecting which the parties were to be as free and unbound after 
the decision as before the reference. If she had no power to 
refer ; if she had no authority to bind her constituents, then she 
ought not to have moved in the business ; and the first error was 
committed at Richmond, and not at Lexington. For my part 
I believe the State line bound by the ion, and that the 

guaranty is the m< re expression of a fair implication from tbe 
whole transaction without it. And it was only to render the 
convention more explicit, and to preclude tbe ncce f resort- 

ing to any interpretations about which disputes might arise, that 
it appeared to me to be e mt to insert the clause of guaranty. 

Upon the whole I must say. that if you reject the convention, 



72 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I think the impartial world will look upon you as being clearly 
in the wrong. 

I am extremely sorry to find that any of my friends believe 
that I was not eal'cd upon to address the note which was re- 
published in the Intelligencer, respecting certain questions 
arising at Ghent. Had Mr. Adams, cither before or after his 
oral publications, designed to consult me about the use which 
he lias freely made in them of my name ; had he said to me " Mr. 
Clay, I have imputed to you such and such opinions, and made 
statements about the part you acted at Ghent : if I am inaccu- 
rate in any of them I will take pleasure in correcting the error," 
I should have felt myself required to address Mr. Adams person- 
ally, and not the public. But he never communicated to me 
any one of his publications, and I never had an opportunity even 
of seeing his book until my arrival here. Having chosen, with- 
out my knowledge or consent, to usher my name into the public 
journals ; having imputed to me, as he does in his appendix, in- 
consistencies, and by an innuendo insinuated that I was the author 
of an editorial article in Kentucky, which I never saw until I 
read it in the paper in which it was printed, I felt myself ab- 
solved from all obligation to make any direct appeal to Mr. 
Adams himself. In addressing the note which I did to the pub- 
lic, it was my intention merely to enter a caveat against the cor- 
rectness of all his statements, and to exhibit a public reservation 
of a right on my part to rectify mistakes, when the proper occa- 
sion should arrive. Considering the relation in which both of 
us now stand to the public, I thought the present an unsuitable 
moment even to hazard any controversy with him; and if I 
could prostrate him in the dust I would not write at this time. 

I thank you for your kind information respecting the state of 
the |i'il>lic mind in Virginia. 

I look upon this struggle with all the philosophy which I ought 
to do. On one resolution my friends may rest assured I will 
firmly rely, and that is, to participate in no intrigues, to enter 
into no arrangements, to make no promises or pledges: but that, 
whether I am elected or not, I will have nothing , reach 

myself with. It' elected I will go into the office with a pure 
consci to promote with my utmost exertions the common 

good of our country, and free to select the most able and faithful 
public servants. M not elected, acquiescing most cheerfully in 
the better selection which will thus have been made, I will at 



OF HENRY CLAY. 73 

least have the satisfaction of preserving my honor unsullied, and 
my heart uncorrupted. 

I shall remain here during the greater part of the term of the 
Supreme Court, in which I have some professional business, par- 
ticularly the cause between the hank and the Slate of Ohio. 

I shall be glad that your leisure may allow you to give me 
the pleasure of again hearing from you. 

P. S. What course does Virginia mean to take after refuting 
the guaranty ? Does she intend again to open the negotiation ? 
To propose that the Board of Commissioners shall now proceed 
without the clause of guaranty ? Or to make a rupture of all 
negotiations and fly to arms ? I mean forensic arms. 



B. W. LEIGH TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, Feb. 12, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — I have received your truly kind and friendly 
letter. Far from being surprised at the indignation which the 
conduct of the Virginia Legislature, in respect to the convention 
agreed on between us last summer, has excited in your breast, I 
unite in the sentiment ; but my indignation is aggravated by the 
sense of personal mortification at such a defeat of my best efforts 
for the public service, and of burning shame for the ridicule and 
dishonor which Virginia has brought on herself. If you be thus 
indignant, what must be the feelings of your colleague, Mr. 
Rowan? I fancy I can see his resentment, disdain, and con- 
tempt. Yet, my dear sir, this deed must not be imputed to us, 
the people of Virginia, nor even to the body of her representa- 
tives — it must lie at the door of a bare majority of the Senate. 
I am not sure that Kentucky is bound to take the distinction, but 
I hope you will. I believe that the sentiment of the people of 
Virginia toward Kentucky, is the same with my own individu- 
ally, and that, I am sure, is what it ought to be. 

It is impossible to say what our assembly means to do in this 
business. Some answer must be given to Kentucky. What it 
will be, or how it can be agreed on, considering the difference 
of opinion between the two houses, I am wholly at a loss to 
conjecture. The majority in the Senate for the present, so far 
as I can learn, are perfectly careless about it. But it is impos- 



74 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

sible, I hope, that they can continue so regardless of self-respect, 
so unconcerned about the comity due to a sister State, as to leave 
matters in their present condition. Mr. Johnson desired me a 
day or two ago, to tell you that he did not think it absolutely 
hopeless, and that the Senate will yet consent to the ratification 
of the convention. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington - , February 2G, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your friendly letter of the 19th 
inst., as I did the preceding one to which it refers. The course 
which the business between our respective States has taken, fills 
me with so much regret and concern, that I will not dwell upon 
it, especially as it has probably terminated finally, and had, there- 
fore better be forgotten as soon as it can be. What is done can 
not be changed, and it is not conformable to my temper or habit, 
to indulge in unavailing regrets. I prefer always looking to the 
future. I observe what you state with respect to the condition 
of the public feeling in Virginia, in regard to the next Presidency. 
I ever thought that the line of conduct which the Virginia gen- 
tleman had marked out for that State, that is, to take no forward 
part in the ensuing election, but rather to leave the decision of 
it to the residue of the Union, was wise and discreet. It would 
have been thought that Virginia was dictatorial, if after ceasing 
to furnish a chief magistrate, she should have displayed any early 
and anxious solicitude about the successor of Mr. Monroe. But 
has Virginia acted in consonance with this avowed purpose ? Has 
not that point, which heretofore has invariably indicated her pleas- 
ure, distinctly taken its ground ? Has it not been confidently pro- 
claimed, and been believed, every where out of Virginia, that her 
choice was fixed ? May not the effect of all this be, to jeopard- 
ize, not only that nee, ii' it be actually made, but also the 
tion of him who would be her second choice? 

\ irg Mia may possibly decide the election by bestowing her suf- 

■ on the gentleman referred to, though I doubt it extremely. 

But she certainly can decide it by lending her support to him 

cond cl She will, of course, as she 

ought to, d tine as sh ■ pi i such contingences. * 

In saying thru it is my firm conviction thai Mr. Adams is at 
present the most formidable, 1 pray you to believe that I do not 



OF HENRY CLAY. 75 

mean (far from it), to indicate any preference for him, n 
moved, at Mr. Crawford's expense, by the desire of advancing 
my own interests. • ***** 

Connect yourselves with the West, and are you not. whether 
the election Is won or lost, on the vantage ground? You see, 
my dear sir, that I write you with all the freedom of an ancii nt 
friendship, which could alone excuse the presentation to you of 
views, which, I dare say, have often been taken by you. 

I pray you to give my best respects to your associate, Judge 
Green, whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making last 
winter, and for whose character I have a high regard. 



MB. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington-, March 9, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — You will have seen that the Supreme Court 
has decided against the validity of our occupying claimant laws. 
The dissatisfaction which will be felt by the people of Ken- 
tucky, with the decision, will be aggravated in no little degree, 
by the fact, that the decision is that of three judges to one, a mi- 
nority, therefore, of the whole court ; and this aggravation will 
be further increased by considerations which belong to either of 
these three judges. 

At the moment of some vexation about this unhappy result of a 
cause, the effects and possible consequences of which, fill me 
with extreme concern, I wrote you my last letter, and I fear that 
I expressed myself in it, on some points, in a manner which I 
ought not to have done, even to one whom I have ever regarded 
as one of my best friends. I must pray you, therefore, to com- 
mit it to the flames, and its contents to oblivion. * * 

I shall leave this place in a few days, for Kentucky, by the way 
of Philadelphia, and I shall be glad to have the pleasure of 
hearing from you, when I reach home. 



M. DE MEXOU TO MR. CLAY. 

Mabch 17, 1 

M. de Menou has the honor of presenting his respects to Mr. 
Clay, and while acknowledging his polite note of 
begs leave to thank him for his attention to the affair Hon 

which he regrets was not tried this term. He hopes Mr. ' 



76 , PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

will have the goodness to give it his continued support next 
year. 

Should Mr. Clay have no further use, at present, for the differ- 
ent papers relating to that business, and think fit to send them to 
M. de Menou, he would keep them in readiness to be returned 
to Mr. Clay on his return to Washington. 



REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA. TO MR. CLAY. 

Favorita, December 31, 1822. 

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, begs leave to offer 
his best respects to Colonel Todd, and will have the greatest 
pleasure in presenting to the Executive of Colombia, the portrait 
of the Honorable Henry Clay, to whom the Continental States 
of the ci-devant Spanish America, are so much indebted for his 
perseverance and enlightened sagacity. 

The Secretary of State for Foreign Relations, entertains no 
doubt but that the Executive will accept a present which will 
at every moment recall to his mind, an American politician and 
a sincere friend of humanity. He does not hesitate, by antici- 
pation, to offer to Colonel Todd his best thanks for his goodness 
and the particular confidence with which he distinguishes him. 



Bogota, April 23, 1S23. 
C. vS. Todd offers his respects to the Honorable Speaker of 
the House of Representatives of the Republic of Colombia, 
and, as a testimony of his esteem for the first Constitutional 
Congress, has the honor to present an engraved portrait of his 
distinguished friend and connection, Henry Clay, the eloquent 
advocate of the liberty of both Americas. 



L Favorita, December 31, 1822. 

C. S. Todd ? s respects to Dr. Gual, Secretary of State for For- 
eign Affairs, and begs leave to present, as a slight testimony of 
his esteem, an en, I it of his distinguished friend and 

connection, Henry Clay ; to be disposed of in such manner as 
Dr. Gual m m most complimentary to the Executive De- 

partment of Colombia. 



OF HENBT CLAV. 77 



REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA. 

House of Representatives, in Bogota, 
April 25, 1823. 

To Mr. C. S. Todd, Charge aV Affaires— 

The House of Representatives has received with the most 
lively sense of gratitude the valuable present you have had the 
goodness to oiler. It duly appreciates the generous sentiments 
manifested in the address with which you accompanied it ; 
sentiments very worthy of the country of Washington and of 
Franklin. 

The House will not fail to pay that profound tribute of re- 
spect which is due to the Honorable Henry Clay, the intrepid 
advocate of the cause of Colombia ; and while it reserves to 
itself the occasion of manifesting in a more conspicuous manner, 
the high esteem of which he is worthy, you will condescend to 
communicate to him, the wishes which the House cherishes for 
the prosperity of the United States. God preserve you. 

DOMINGO CAYCEDO, President of the House. 



C. S. TODD TO MR. CLAY. 

Bogota, May 8, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — I had the pleasure of addressing you a short 
note from Merida, in December last, and avail myself, now, of 
the return of the Swedish Consul-General to Philadelphia, to 
transmit a correspondence with the authorities here, produced 
by the presentation of some of Tyler's engravings of you, three 
copies of which I had procured for the purpose ; the receipt of 
that presented to General Soublettc, Intendant-Gencral at ( 
acas, has not been acknowledged. The correspondence was 
originally in Spanish, and you will sec in the translation that I 
have made some progress in a language, which, besides its pre- 
eminent beauties, may become emphatically that of America. 

I hope you know me sufficiently to be aware that I have not 
received with indiilerence, the account of the indications in 
Kentucky. Ohio, and Missouri, and in the prints of other States, 
favorable to your pretensions to the next Presidency. Death 
and some Siberian Missions may lessen the number of your 
competitors, and whatever may be the feeling of the United 



78 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

State i ly oil the subject, there can be no doubt but that the 
united voice of continental America would elevate you to a 
station full o( unexampled responsibility and of unrequited 
solicitude. I am persuaded,, however, that you are yourself too 
national in your feelings, to give all the point which the people 
and Governments in the New States of Spanish America would 
wish to convey by their unqualified approbation of your con- 
duct in relation to their supposed interests; since it has been 
made the occasion and the pretext for indulging in cold and un- 
worthy feelings toward our Government, and extending, in a 
much greater degree than we could wish, even to our people 
and institutions. 

I might refer you to Colonel Duane for detailed information 
with respect to the state of affairs here ; and his opinions would 
be entitled to great consideration, having devoted many years to 
the acquisition of an extensive knowledge of the country, and 
in support of the cause which the people supposed they were 
maintaining. Being myself in the diplomatic service and, more- 
over, under the immediate eye of a statesman, who is character- 
istically kn iwn never to express more than he means to say, I 
may be excused from giving an opinion on the condition of 
things ; but Colonel Duane, if he were to meet with yon. would 
undeceive yon with respect to many matters about which, he 
i , he has been heretofore under misapprehensions. He would 

!1 you that though the county is separated from Spanish do- 
minion and misrule, yet that Spanish duplicity in the Governors, 
and S superstition in the people are but too painfully prev- 

alent ; while the hopes of the public councils are directed to 
Europe, and especially Great Britain, in the vain delusion, that 
it is by those powers alone, their interests can be promoted. 

I need not say, dear sir, that any communication you may 
find it convenient to make me, will be peculiarly acceptable. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

1 i BNGTGK, August 2S, 1828. 

I received, my dear sir. your very obliging letter of the 14th 
instant, and I pray yon to believe that I do not place less value 
on your friendship I i yon have nothing to communicate 

" more favorable to my prospects." On the subject to which you 



OF HENET CLAY. 79 

allude, T assure you most sincerely I look witl ilmness, 

and with a most perfect determination to acquiesce cheerfully in 
whatever choice the nation may make. It would be a poor i 
plimenl to our institn that their solidity, or the public 

. materially depended upon any election that shall 
' ally think, however, that Virginia can not jus- 
tify herself to the Union for the apathy which you s 
there on the question. Judging, as I have done at this distance, 
from the " Enquirer" and other Virginia prints, I had supposed 
that great interest Mas felt and generally taken in its decision, 
and that there was even danger of her overstepping the line of 
tious circumspection, which her leading politicians were un- 
derstood to have marked out for her. 

This indifference, you say, arises from the absence of any 
pledge that the great interests of the people of Virginia will be 
taken care of by any of the competitors for the chief magistracy. 
If, indeed, no such pledge is to be found in the principles, integ- 
rity, and characters, as heretofore developed, of either of the 
candidates, it is, I should think, quite too late in the day now 
for any pledge to be given or received. But, my dear sir, what 
interests have Virginia and the South separate from the Union ? 
You have mentioned a single subject only, that of the encroach- 
ts of the Federal judiciary on State rights ; and, as connected 
with this, the " broad doctrine now inculcated, that Congress has 
the right to extend, not to regulate only, the jurisdiction of the 
Federal Courts." On that subject I am entirely at a loss to con- 
ceive any peculiar interest in the State of Virginia, and the 
n States. All are equally concerned in the jurisdiction 
of the State sovereignties. All would be equally affected by 
ral usurpation. But I must confess that it is the first time 
that I ever heard asserted such a doctrine as you say is now in- 
culcated. The limit of the Federal judiciary is to be found in 
the Constitution, and Congress can vest in it no power which is 
not there found. If such a doctrine as you state is really at- 
tempted to be inculcated, you will find Kentucky now, as in the 
epoch of 1799, in spite of all your unkindness toward her. ready 
to co-operate with you in opposing it, and no man in the Union 
will ho more prompt than I shall be to second the opposition. 
I can not suppose you to refer to the power that is claimed for 
the general Government, to give etlect to its laws through its own 
judiciary. For, without that power, without Federal means to 



80 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

effectuate the constitutional resolves of the Federal will, there is 
an end to the general Government — that is inevitable, if not in- 
stantaneous anarchy. 

But, my dear sir, on this subject of the Federal judiciary and 
State rights, I mean to say a few words to you, in the spirit of 

rinia ind< pendence, and in the frankness of sincere friend. 
Has not Virginia exposed herself to the imputation of selfishness, 
by the course of her conduct, or of that of many of her politicians ? 
When, in the case of Cohans and Virginia, her authority was 
alone concerned, she made the most strenuous efforts against the 
exercise of power hy the Supreme Court. But when the thun- 
ders of that Court were directed against poor Kentucky, in vain 
did she invoke Virginian aid. The Supreme Court, it was im- 
agined, would decide on the side of supposed interests of Vir- 
ginia. It has so decided ; and, in effect, cripples the sovereign 
power of the State of Kentucky more than any other measure 
ever affected the independence of any State in this Union, and 
not a Virginia voice is heard against the decision. The Supreme 
Court is viewed with complacency, and as a very different sort 
of tribunal from that Supreme Court which decided Cohans' 
case. 

Again : of all the irregular bodies, none can be more so than 
a Congressional caucus at Washington. None have a more con- 
solidating tendency. Indeed, it is espoused upon the principle 
of preventing the exercise of State or Federal rights through the 
medium of the House of Representatives. Yet the Virginia 
politicians (at least if we are to judge from the papers) warmly 
advocate the constitution of such a caucus. Will it not be said 
that they are influenced by the consideration, not of preserving 
unimpaired Stale rights, but of giving to the State power of 
Virginia the utmost effect of which it is capable ? Or that of 
securing the election of the alleged favorite, who, without the 
instrumentality of such an assemblage, is in danger of losing the 
election ? It is in vain to speak of the inconveniences of a 
warmly-contested election. They are incident to our system, 
and are happily provided for by it. And the transitions from a 
Congressional caucus to a prctorian cohort or hereditary mon- 
archy, to escape from those vexations, are not so great as we 
might at first imagine. 

I am aware that on two subjects I have the misfortune to 
differ with many of my Virginia friends — internal improvements 



OF HENRY CLAY. - 1 

and home manufactures. My opinion has been formed after 
much deliberation, and my best judgment yet tells me that I am 
right. I have not time, nor would it be fitting as regards your 
comfort, now to discuss the policy or the power of fostering tl 
Interests. I believe Virginia and the Southern States as much 
interested, directly or indirectly, as any other parts of the Union, 
in their encouragement. When the Government was first ado, 
we had no interior. Our population was inclosed between the 
sea and the mountains which run parallel to it. Since then the 
west part of your State, the western parts of New York and 
Pennsylvania, and all the Western States, have been settled. 
The wars of Europe consumed all the surplus produce on both 
sides of the mountains. Those wars have terminated, and emi- 
gration has ceased. We find ourselves annually in possession of 
an immense surplus. There is no market for it abroad ; there is 
none at home. If there were a foreign market, before we, in the 
interior, could reach it, the intervening population would have sup- 
plied it. There can be no foreign market adequate to the con- 
sumption of the vast and growing surplus of the produce of our 
agriculture. We must, then, have a home market. Some of ub 
must cultivate ; some fabricate. And we must have reasonable 
protection against the machinations of foreign powers. On the 
sea-board you want a navy, fortifications, protection, foreign 
commerce. In the interior we want internal improvements, 
home manufactures. You have what you want, and object to 
our getting what we want. Should not the interests of both 
parties be provided for ? 

It has appeared to me, in the administration of the general 
Government, to be a just principle to inquire what great inter 
belong to each section of our country, and to promote those in- 
terests, as far as practicable, consistently with the Constitution, 
having always an eye to the welfare of the whole. Assuming 
this principle, does any one doubt that if New York. New Jer- 
sey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the Western States 
constituted an independent nation, it would immediately protect 
the important interests in question ? And is it not to he feared 
that, if protection is not to be found for vital interests, from the 
existing systems, in great parts of the confederacy, those parts 
will ultimately seek to establish a system that will anord the 
requisite protection ? I would not. in the application of the prin- 
ciple indicated, give to the peculiar interests of great sections all 

G 



v 2 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

the protection which they would probably receive if those sec- 
tions constituted separate and independent States. I would, 
however, extend protection, and measure it by balancing 

the countervailing interests, if there be such, in other quarters of 
the Union. 

I concur entirely with you in thinking that the north and 
it particularly New England, have laid, in a great meas- 
. the other parts of the Union under contribution. And of 
all the ill-advised measures, of all the wasteful expenditures of 
public money, the Revolutionary pension list pre-eminently takes 
the lead. Never was there more public money spent, with less 
practical benefit. Bat who proposed it ? Your own Monroe. 
I thought of it then as I think of it now ; but opposition would 
have been silly and vain. 

You will oppose my election, I suppose, in Virginia. I have 
no right to complain. Silence and submission are my duty. You 
will oppose me because I think that the interests of all parts of 
the Union should be taken care of: in other words, that the in- 
terests of the interior, on the two subjects mentioned, as well as 
that of the maritime coast, ought to be provided for. You will 
give your suffrages to Mr. Crawford or Mr. Adams; and if Mr. 
Crawford or Mr. Adams be elected, I venture to predict that we 
shall find, either in his inaugural speech, or in the first message 
or speech (perhaps the latter mode of communication may be re- 
vived) to Congress, a recommendation of efficient encouragement 
to domestic manufactures and internal improvements. 

I am afraid that you will think me in a very bad humor. Far 
from it. I repeat that I never enjoyed more perfect composure. 
My health, it is true, is extremely bad, and I am now confined 
at homo by the endeavor to re-establish it. But it neither affects 
my tranquillity or gives me the spleen. In regard to the election, 
as to which I will make no professions of affecting an indiffer- 
i nee. which I do not feel, my friends continue to be very confi- 
dent ; and my own opinion is that my prospects are not sur- 
passed by those of either of the other gentlemen, still I am not 
unaware that all things are uncertain ; and I. therefore continue 
resolved to preserve my philosophy, my principles, and my con- 
science, be (1 vent what it may. 

Has nol our friend Southard been rapidly advanced? He 
certainly has merit, and his friend, the Secretary of War, has 
discernment. 



OF HENRY CLAY. S9 

It would have given me great pleasure to see you, as it will 
to meet you any where again. Can you not run up to Wash] 
ton next winter? To a close observer there will be a scene 
there exhibited worth surveying. Wherever you are, I pray you 
to be persuaded that my best wishes attend you. 

P. S. I send you my effusions as they are poured out through 
a mercurial course, on which the doctors have put me ; and wish 
no copy for others. I write for yourself alone. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagbange, October 13, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — I have been applied to by the amiable Madame 
de la Rue for a letter of introduction to my friend Mr. Clay ; 
she is daughter of the celebrated Beaumarchais, whose name 
has been connected with the five years of our American contest ; 
she is the wife of one of my faithful and zealous aides-de-camp 
in the National Guard : two motives which make it a very agree- 
able duty for me to present her to you. 

Madame de la Rue has a claim upon the public treasury, long 
debated in Congress, the documents of which have been laid be- 
fore you. It does not belong to me to anticipate your opinion 
in a matter upon which you have more data than I could Oiler ; 
hut I find a pleasure in contributing to gratify Madame de la 
Rue's wishes to be introduced to your personal acquaintance. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Black Rock, November 17, 1823. 
Dear Sir, — I received your favor of September some days 



ago. 



The singular results in our late elections, with the speculations 
on them in our newspapers, will show you the uncertainty of the 
ultimate vote of this State on the j residential question. The 
zeal and pertinacity witli which Van Buren and his friends have 
pushed Mr. Crawford (who has no substantial popularity hi 
without any other argument in his favor than the necessitj <•! 
party discipline, have disgusted the Republicans of this State, 
and produced great dissatisfaction and division in out ranks. 



84 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

The cleverest fellow in our delegation is Dudley Marvin, a 
new member from Ontario, to whom I have given a letter of 
introduction to you. He was from New England, and educated 
a Federalist, but is a Republican in principle and practice, and 
has for some time been in the confidence of our party. He pos- 
sesses a heart as well as a head of the first order. I hope you 
will notice him in public as well as in private, and I am confident 
your attentions will be amply repaid in the pleasure you will 
derive from his acquaintance. 



P. P. BARBOUR TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, December 4, 1823. 
Dear Sir, — In answer to your note of this evening, I beg 
leave to say, that I should regret exceedingly, as far as I am 
personally concerned, to give you the slightest difficulty in the 
arrangement of committees. My own individual wish would be 
decidedly to be on no committee ; but as that might possibly 
give rise to some misconstruction, I now so far modify my wish 
as to desire to be put upon none whose labor is very great ; and 
further, not to be chairman of whatsoever committee I may be 
placed on — above all, the Committee of Ways and Means I should 
most object to. Wheresoever your general arrangement may make 
it convenient to place me, I assure you in sincerity I shall be per- 
fectly satisfied. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 20, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — A friend informs me that, at Richmond, my 
arrangement of the committees of the House of Representatives 
has been the subject of some animadversion, in consequence of 
Mr. Barbour, late Speaker, not being at the head of any com- 
mittee. The truth is, that it was my intention to have appointed 
him chairman of one of the most prominent committees of the 
House, but he entreated me not to put him at the head of any 
commitu c. nor on any committee, which might require much of 
his time, as he wished to employ it exclusively in study. 1 should 
certainly not offer, even to a friend, any explanation of my official 
conduct in such a matter, if it were not to prevent misconception 



OF HENRY CLAY. 85 

of my motives in respect to a gentleman between whom and 
myself unfortunately some competition existed. I am sure if lie 
were apprised (he is now absent from Washington) of the erron- 
eous impression existing at Richmond, he would himself hasten 
to correct it. I have a full share of human frailties ; but a want 
of consideration for a competitor, in relation to any object, does 
not, if I know myself, happen to be one of them. 

Did you get a lengthy letter that I wrote you in August or 
September last ? 



W. B. ROCHESTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Bath, Steueen County, F. Y., December 20, 1823. 

My dear Sir, — Your election as Speaker, considering the 
majority, and that you were opposed by a professed friend of Mr. 
Crawford, has had the effect of making the few friends of the 
last-named gentleman, whom I have since conversed with, admit 
that he is not so strong a man throughout the Union as they had 
previously supposed. You were right in taking it ; had you 
declined, you would have been charged with chaffering ; indeed, 
Rufus King's paper, in New York city, has already, iu substance, 
charged you with having graduated some of the first of your 
official acts {ex. qr. appointments of committees), with a view to 

serve private views. That editor, Mr. , is a sad fellow, 

for it is only about a twelvemonth since he avowed to me his 
preference of you, and ever since he has been totis viribus, for 
Adams ! 

The hollow apology which he made to me, was your publica- 
tion disavowing any co-operation with Mr. Russell in his affair 
with Mr. Adams. 

[n answer to the inquiry in your favor of the 6th instant, 
whether I correspond with Mr. Van Buren, I reply affirmatively, 
though I have not as yet heard directly from him since his ar- 
rival at Washington. 

I have just finished a hasty letter to him, which lies before 
me, and shall be forwarded by the same mail which takes this. 

I repeat to you that Mr. V. B.'s preference will he of vast im- 
portance to his favorites in this State, let the choice be made as 
it may. 

I am told your health has been poor, and as your duties are 



86 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

doubtless arduous, let me once more beg of you to believe that I 
do not write with a view of extracting answers. I need hardly 
say that my letters to you arc written for the indulgent eye of 
friendship only. I have not time to transcribe and to correct, but 
shall occasionally drop you a hasty scroll as the tide moves on. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washingtoh, January 22, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your obliging letter of the 18th 
instant. I am glad to hear of the probability of the recovery of 
Colonel Taylor's health. With respect to his opinions on the 
subject to which you refer, whatever they may be, they can not 
diminish that habitual veneration for him which I have ever 
cherished. 

On the point of a caucus, in a spirit of perfect desperation, a 
continual effort is making to get one up. It will be defeated, 
you may rely, either by being voted down, in a general attend- 
ance of the Republican members, or by a resolution of a large 
majority of them not to attend. If the)'' make one, it will be a 
faction — a cabal. My friends say, that on the score of mere ex- 
pediency, they have no objection to a caucus which shall be 
composed of the Republican members generally ; that they have no 
fears of the result of such a caucus ; but that they have no idea 
of consenting to make part of a caucus in which they should act 
the part of mevefiguranti, which would be the case if the friends 
of other candidates, who, it is well known, would not attend, 
should be absent. ****** 

With great regard, I am faithfully your friend. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 23, ls-jj. 

Ml dear Sir, — It is sonic time since I had the pleasure of 

hearing from you. In the interval, several events of importance 

have occurred. The miserable attempt at a caucus, you will 

have seen accounts of. Mr. Crawford never could have been 



OF HENRY CLAY. 87 

elected, but I venture to predict that the mere fact of seeking, 
by means of a caucus so got up, and so constituted, will de- 
stroy whatever prospects he ever had. Mr. Calhoun has with- 
drawn. This has been produced by events in Pennsylvania, 
evincing, beyond all doubt, the determination of thai State to 
support General Jackson. The circle of competition is thus 
much circumscribed, and you may rely upon it, that you will 
have, as your next President, Adams, Jackson, or myself. You 
will have,- in Virginia, to choose between these three evils. It 
is madness, it is perfect infatuation, to think, at this time, of any 
body else. Our intelligence from New York, continues to be 
favorable to the hopes of my friends. Still we shall have noth- 
ing absolutely decisive from that quarter, until time has elapsed 
to enable us to hear what the consequences there will be of the 
caucus. The present moment is one of great importance to me 
in Virginia. Now is the time to make a demonstration for me 
there, if ever. My friends accordingly, I understand, contem- 
plate the formation of an electoral ticket for me, at Richmond, 
and think of putting you at the head of it, if you consent. 
Such a ticket, announced at this time, whatever may be its ulti- 
mate fate to Virginia, will have the very best effects out of 
Virginia. 

As soon as I hear from New York, I will communicate to 
you. In the mean time, I should be glad to hear from you. Mr. 
Crawford's friends will make an effort as long as they adhere to 
him, to exclude me from the House of Representatives, in the 
hope that my Western friends will take him, if they can not 
get me. They utterly deceive themselves. If they accomplish 
that object, and bring him into the house with Adams and Jack- 
son, to my exclusion, he can not be elected. Aslhave told you 
before, the north-western States will go for Mr. Adams, if they 
can not get me. They will vote for no man residing in a slave 
State but me, and they vote for me because of other and chiefly 
local considerations, outweighing the slave objections. On that 
you may depend. Mr. Adams, then, will have the six New 

'and States, and three north-western States, with the cha 
(and the best chance), for New York (if I am out of the way), 
New .' . Maryland, to say nothing of Alabama, Mississippi. 

and Louisiana. 



88 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE 

Washington, February 26, 1824. 
My dear Sir, — During your sojourn at home, I did not write 
you any letter except one, which I addressed to you some days 
ago, at Fredericksburg, with a direction to the post-master at that 
place, to forward it to you at Richmond, if you had gone 
thither. I hope it has safely come to hand. I am glad that 
you have returned to the metropolis. Inclosed, I transmit to you 
two letters which I have received to-day from New York, which 
you may return or destroy, after perusing the contents. Other 
letters, to other persons, have, from Albany, corroborated their 
statements, and represent, first that Mr. Crawford can not pos- 
sibly obtain the vote of New York ; secondly, that great dissat- 
isfaction prevails at Albany, with such a caucus as was held 
here, and especially with the person nominated as Vice-President; 
and thirdly, that there is no contest in New York, but between 
Mr. Adams and me. Pennsylvania has gone inevitably to 
Jackson. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 6, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I have received the three last letters which 
you have done me the favor to write to me. On the subject to 
which they relate, there appears to be an eddy at this moment. 
We shall soon see which way the currents will break out. In- 
formation from every quarter assures us that the caucus here has 
impaired, instead of advancing Mr. Crawford's prospects. The 
convention at Harrisburg, no doubt, the day before yesterday, 
recommended General Jackson; and they probably forebore to 
make any recommendation of a Vice-President : or, if they did 
make any, I think it was Mr. Calhoun. At Albany they are 
probably looking to Harrisburg, and waiting for events. It is 
now believed, that the Senate of New York will reject the Elec- 
toral Bill, the committee of that body having made a report 
against it. J5ut, rest assured, that all inferences derived from 
that fact in favor of Mr. Crawford are utterly fallacious. He 
can not obtain the vote of that State. 

I concur with you in thinking that my friends at Richmond 



OF HEJsftY CLAY. 89 

and in Virginia ought to avoid, if possible, all misunderstanding 
with those of Mr. Crawford ; and a temperate and conciliatory 
character would therefore be best to be given to any appeal made 
to the people in my behalf. 

I have just heard that De Witt Clinton has arrived here. I 
pray you not to think it necessary to answer every letter which 
I may address to you. I should be glad to hear from you occa- 
sionally, and when perfectly convenient. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 16, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I received your obliging favor of the 14th. 
The ticket formed by my friends at Richmond, appears to me/ 
upon the whole, to be extremely judicious ; and its good effect 
elsewhere, I think I am not deceived in. The Senate of New 
York, has by a vote of seventeen to fourteen, postponed the 
Electoral Bill. The first and most certain effect of that note is 
to prevent Mr. Clinton from being a candidate ; and I have no 
doubt that that was the principal object with the majority. If 
there had been a popular election of electors, he would probably 
have come out, and very likely would have obtained the vote 
of that State. 

The course of Mr. Randolph's friends about Richmond sur- 
prises me. My conscience acquits me entirely of all blame 
toward that gentleman. Throughout all our acquaintance he 
has ever been the assailant. I have ever been on the defensive. 
The House of Representatives has ever taken part with me. and 
against him, in every collision that I ever had with him. 



JAMES MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Montpelier, April 24, 1824 

Dear Sir, — I have received a copy of your speech on " Ameri- 
can Industry" for which I pray you to accept my thanks. I find 
in it a full measure of the ability and eloquence so often wit- 
nessed on preceding occasions. But while doing this justice to 
the task you have performed, which I do with pleasure as well 
as sincerity, candor obliges me to add that I can not concur in 



90 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

the extent to which the pending bill carries the tariff, nor in 
some of the reasoning by which it is advocated. 

The lull, T think, loses sight too much of the general princi- 
ple which leaves to the judgment of individuals the choice of 
profitable employments for their labor and capital ; and the argu- 
ments in favor of it drawn from the aptitudes of our situation 
for manufacturing establishments, tend to show that these would 
take place without a Legislative interference. The law would 
not say to the cotton-planter, you overstock the market, and 
ought to plant tobacco ; and to the planter of tobacco you would 
do better by substituting wheat. It presumes that profit being 
the object of each, as the profit of each is the wealth of the 
whole, each will make whatever change the state of the markets 
and prices may require. We see, in fact, changes of this sort 
frequently produced in agricultural pursuits by individual sagacity 
watching over individual interest. And why not trust to the 
same guidance in favor of manufacturing industry, whenever it 
promises more profit than any of the agricultural branches ; or 
more than mercantile pursuits, from which we see capital readily 
transferred to manufacturing establishments likely to yield a 
greater income? 

With views of the subject such as this, I am a friend to the 
general principle of " free industry" as the basis of a sound sys- 
tem of political economy. On the other hand, I am not less a 
friend to the legal patronage of domestic manufactures, as far as 
they come within particular reasons for exceptions to the general 
rule, not derogating from its generality. If the friends of the 
tariff, some of them at least, maintain opinions subversive of the 
rule, there are among its opponents views taken of the subj< 
which would exclude the fair exceptions to it. 

For examples of these exceptions I take, first, the case of 
articles necessary for national defense. Second, articles of a use 
too indispensable to be subjected to foreign contingences. Third, 
cases where there may be sufficient certainty that a temporary 
encouragement v. ill introduce a particular manufacture, which, 
once introduced, would flourish without that encouragement. 
That there are such cases is proved by the cotton manufacture, 
introduced by the impulse of the war and the patr ge of the 
law, without which ii not for a cons ive ef- 

fectually spmng up. It must not be forgotten, however, that the 
great success in this case was owing to the advantage enjoyed in 



OF HENRY CLAY. 91 

the raw material, and to the extraordinary abridgment of manual 
labor by mechanical agency. Fourth, a very important exception 
results from the frequency of wars among the manufacturing na- 
tions, the effect of a state of war on the prices of their manufac- 
tures, and the improbability that domestic substitutes will be 
provided, by establishments which could, not outlast occasions of 
such uncertain duration. I have not noticed any particular refer- 
ence to this consideration in the discussions which have been 
published, the greater cheapness of imported fabrics being as- 
sumed from their cost in times of peace. Yet it is clear that if 
a yard of imported cloth, which costs but six dollars in peace, 
costs eight dollars in war. and the two periods should be, as for 
the last two centuries taken together the)'' have been, nearly 
equal, a tax of nearly one dollar a yard in time of peace could 
be afforded by the consumer, in order to escape the tax im- 
posed by the event of war. 

"Without looking for other exceptions to the general principle 
restraining legislative interferences with the industrious pursuits 
of individuals, those specified give sufficient scope for a moderate 
tariff that would at once answer the purpose of revenue and 
foster domestic manufactures. 

With respect to the operation of the projected tariff, I am led 
to believe that it will disappoint the calculations both of its 
friends and of its adversaries. The latter will probably find thai 
the increase of duty on articles which will be but partially manu- 
factured at home, with the annual increment of consumers, will 
balance at least the loss to the Treasury from the diminution of 
the tariffed imports ; while the sanguine hopes of the former 
will be not less frustrated by the increase of smuggling, par- 
ticularly through our east and north frontiers, and by the attrac- 
tion of the laboring class to the vacant territory. This is the 
great obstacle to the spontaneous establishment of manufactures, 
and will be overcome with most difficulty wherever land is 
cheapest, and the ownership of it most attainable. 

The tariff, I apprehend, will disappoint also those who expect 
it to put an end to unfavorable balances of trade. Our imports, 
as is justly observed, will not be short of our exports. They 
will probably exceed them. We are accustomed to buy not only 
as much as we can pay for, but as much more as can be obtained 
on credit. Until we •■hange our habits, therefore, or manufac- 
ture the articles of luxury as well as the useful articles, we shall 



92 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

be apt to be in arrears, to a certain extent, in our foreign deal- 
ings, and have the exchange bearing against us. As long as our 
exports consist chiefly of food and raw materials, we shall 
have the advantage, in a contest of privations, over a nation sup- 
plying us with superfluities. But in the ordinary freedom of in- 
tercourse, the advantage will be on the other side ; the wants on 
that being limited by the nature of them, and on ours as bound- 
less as fancy and fashion. 

Excuse a letter which I fear is much too long, and be assured 
of my great esteem and sincere regard. 

P. S. Mrs. Madison desires me to offer the proper return for 
the kind wishes expressed in "your note introducing Mr. Ten 
Eyck, who with his companion made the time very agreeable 
which they passed with us. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington*, May 19, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 16th inst. 
I did not become acquainted with Colonel Gooch while he was 
here. An incident that occurred may serve to explain the charge 
to which you refer. It is the duty of the Speaker to admit 
stenographers. Mr. Stevenson said to me, " Colonel Gooch is 
here, and probably would like to take down the debates, etc., 
for the " Enquirer" during his stay, but I am not authorized to 
apply for his admission." I replied, if Colonel Gooch wants a 
seat within the hall, bond fide for that purpose, he shall be ad- 
mitted ; but that I could not consent to his admission merely 
to give him a comfortable place, without reference to the duties 
of a stenographer. Mr. Stevenson said he should advise him 
not to apply, etc. He did not make an application. I after- 
ward understood that he complained ; but I was also told that, 
after an explanation with Mr. Stevenson, he left here entirely 
satisfied with my conduct. 

I inclose you the extract of a letter which has been sent me 
from New York, respecting a contemplated call of the Legis- 
lature. I have very little doubt that such a measure has been 
irmined on, and will take place, unless the Governor changes 
his intention. If my efforts on the tariff have injured me in 
Virginia, they have benefited mc in other quarters. 



OF HENBY CLAY. 93 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

W v.-iii.nciv.n, May 28, 182 I 

My dear Sir, — The state of Mr. Crawford's health is such as 
scarcely to leave a hope of his recovery. It is said that he has 
sustained a paralytic stroke. His friends begin to own that his 
death is now hut too probable, and that in any event he can no 
longer be held up for the presidency. 

I conjecture that a visit which Mr. Van Burcn and Governor 
Dickinson, of New Jersey, are about to make to Virginia, is con- 
nected with this circumstance, and that they are about to take 
measures for a fresh campaign. I thought, prior to my departure 
to-morrow, I would put you in possession of these matters. 

Be pleased to make my best respects to Mr. Call, and believe 
me ever faithfully your friend. 



SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH TO MR. CLAY. 

London, June 3, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — This note will be presented to you by Mr. 
Stanley, a grandson of the Earl of Derby, a young gentleman 
who has already shown in Parliament talents equally brilliant 
and solid, and whom I can hardly be mistaken in considering 
as destined to perform a great part in the public affairs of this 
country. He is accompanied by three other gentlemen, one of 
whom (Mr. Wortley) I know and highly value, and the other 
two I know to be most respectable. I know that you will con- 
sider this first visit of such a body of English travelers to the 
United States as an event which ought to interest and gratify 
the friends of both countries. I hope that I may venture to ask 
your good offices in guiding the inquiry and aiding the observa- 
tion of Mr. Stanley, and in procuring access for him and his 
friends to those individuals and societies which may afford them 
sufficient specimens of the great English commonwealth in which 
you perform so distinguished a part. 

The enlightened curiosity of Mr. Stanley will direct his com- 
prehensive understanding to your laws, and government, and 
manners ; to the state of industry, wealth, and knowledge, and 
to the effect of all those on the virtue and happiness of the people 



94 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

There »is no one more able than yourself to aid him in so difficul 
a study. I intended to have taken the same liberty with Mr. 
Adams and Mr. Crawford. But I am so very much hurried 
(besides being indisposed) at this moment, that I am reduced to 
the necessity of requesting that you would introduce Mr. Stanley 
to them as holding the first place among those who are the hope 
of this country. After this sincere testimony to his extraordinary 
merit, it is, perhaps, presumptuous in me to add that I should 
sider their attention to him as a most pleasing mark that they 
have not forgotten the degree in which I have had the pleasure 
of enjoying their society. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, June 15, 1824. 

Dear Sir, — I transmit you the inclosed just as I have received 
it. The person who writes it (and whose acquaintance I would 
like you to make, if convenient) became known to me at Colum- 
bus, in Ohio, in January, 1823. He traveled with Judge Bur- 
nett and myself from that place to Wheeling, and interested us 
both by the variety and extent of his information, particularly in 
regard to characters now on the stage. He subsequently mani- 
fested a good deal of zeal in my behalf, and has frequently writ- 
ten me letters, to which I have sometimes replied, respectfully but 

cautiously. If the communication from Mr. is to be 

considered in the nature of an overture, there can be but one 
answer given. I can make no promises of office, of any sort, to 
any one, upon any condition whatever. Whatever support shall 
be given to me, if any, must lie spontaneous and unbought. I 

can not but believe that Mr. 's friend must have allowed 

his zeal to cary him further than was authorized. 

We have nothing new in this quarter. All that we believed 
in respect to the favorable disposition toward me is well founded. 

Be pleased to make my best respects to Mrs. Johnston. 

N. B. The endorsement on the letter, supposed to be by Mr. 
Johnston, is — " Mr. wanted a foreign embassy." 



OF HENRY CLAY. 95 

MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, Juno 21, 1824. 
Dear Sir, — I received your obliging favor of the 7th instant 
from Philadelphia, with the proclamation of the Governor of 

New York inclosed. I was of course prepared to expect that 
measure, the only effect of which will he. should the Legislature 
pass the proposed law, to place the vote of that State to some 
candidate other than Mr. Crawford. 

We have nothing new at the West, where I find every thing 
to be as I expected. You will see candidates announced for 
election in this State for Mr. Adams, General Jackson, etc. This 
is the result of the absence of all sort of concert by means of 
caucuses, or other nominating appendages in Kentucky. Every 
body who chooses puts himself forward as a candidate. The 
State is divided into three districts, according to which it has given 
its electoral vote for many years past. No change was made in 
consequence of one of its own citizens being brought forward, 
because it was known that no change was necessary to insure 
him the entire vote of the State. Nor is there a county, parish, 
or a respectable neighborhood in the whole State, in which he 
would not obtain the majority over all competition. In Ohio, 
Indiana, and Illinois, as well as in Missouri, the result I believe 
to be equally certain. I shall go to Columbus to attend the 
Federal Court, which begins there on the second Monday in July. 
Should you write to me at any time after the receipt of this 
letter, and before the 20th of July, be pleased to address me at 
that place. I am anxious to see the indications, which will 
shortly be given at the South, of the dispositions of Mr. Craw- 
ford's friends, should he be withdrawn, of which I do not doubt, 
sooner or later. My interest, I think, will be benefited by his 
being continued to be held up for some time to come. The 
tariff fever will have then somewhat abated. My respectful 
compliments to Mrs. Johnston. 



LORD GA>rBIER TO MR. CLAY. 

Ivek Grove, June 29, 1824 
My dear Sir, — I had great pleasure in receiving your \ 
friendly letter by the hand of the worthy Bishop Chase, and in 
hearing of your well being from him. I have found him. as 



96 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

you truly describe him, a learned, pious, and highly estimable 
clergyman ; he passed a few days with me here, on his first 
arrival in this country, and I have had much agreeable commu- 
nication with him since that time ; he gains the esteem and 
in of all persons with whom he has become acquainted. 
he is highly respected, and has been received with great kind- 
ness wherever he has gone, and I am happy to say he has been 
very successful in the important object of his visit in this coun- 
try. I very much regret that he is under the necessity of re- 
turning so soon to his diocese : but he leaves an excellent Chris- 
tian savour among the good and pious of our land. I hope we 
shall add more to the collection that has been made for the good 
and laudable work in which he is so piously and zealously en- 
gaged. 

It is a cause of great satisfaction to me that so much success 
has attended the good Bishop's visit to this country, for I greatly 
rejoice on every occasion that in any way promotes mutual 
friendship and good will between the people of our two coun- 
tries. 

I feel very sensibly the kind and friendly expressions in your 
letter, toward me, and happy in every opportunity of assuring you 
of my high esteem and sincere regard. 



BISHOP CHASE TO MR. CLAY. 

Wortuixgton, October 14, 18:24. 

Mr dear Sir, — I have delayed, 1 fear, far beyond the proper 
period, forwarding to you the inclosed letter from Lord Gambier. 
My apology is the very sincere wish I have all along entertained 
of a personal interview, on the subject of which I presumed 
the letter treated, namely, his lordship's great regard for you, 
and the essential service, of which your letter to him, proved 
to me. 

I wished also to see you (perhaps at the United States Court), 
that I might assign the reasons and obtain your pardon, for using 
your name as the umpire, in a certain deed of donation of my 
estate to the contemplated Theological Seminary, for the edu- 
cation of young men for the Christian ministry. As it is, 1 can 
only send you a copy of that instrument ; and to it beg your 
favorable attention. 



OK HENRY CLAY. 97 

The meeting of gut Convent ion takes place, in Ohillicothe, on 
the 3d of November next. Nothing of the kind could give me 
more pleasure, than to see you there, if business or tli 
importance to posterity of our plans should so incline you. 

Your very sincere friend, Charles Hammond, who has been 
of such essential service in the great work of founding this 
Seminary will be there, and, as I trust, assist us with his most 
valuable advice. Pray communicate with him on the subji cl 
any thing which you think will do us good. 

I take the liberty of sending you a letter addressed to Lord 
Kenyon, on the subject of my errand to England. Presuming 
you have seen what has preceded this, no apology is deemed 
necessary. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Columbus, Ohio, July 21, 182! 

Dear Sir, — Your favor under date at Philadelphia on the 
27th of June, has followed me from Lexington to this place. I 
thank you for it. The position which it portrays of the condi- 
tion of things in New York, compared with other modes of as- 
certaining its correctness, I should suppose faithful. It certainly 
offers every motive to animated and persevering exertion. I 
concur with you in thinking, that the appearance in my favor 
of two papers you have mentioned, as being willing ;^ i to come 
out, would lie advantageous. On their part, it is perfectly vol- 
untary. They are unbonght. No imputation of that kind 
could possibly be made. None can be made against me. either 
of Clintonian or Federal taint. Or if such imputations were 
made they would not be credited by the unbiased or impartial. 
who must compose a large portion of the American population. 

Before I came to this State, popular meetings in various conn- 
ties had been held. Some have occurred since I entered it. 
The evidence derivable from their expression of preference 
among the presidential candidates, places beyond all sort of doubt 
the final result here. 

I shall leave this place to-morrow, for Lexington. 

7 



98 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



J. S. JOHNSTON TO MR. CLAY. 

." York, August 10, 1824 

Dear Sin, — There is little feeling in New England for Adams. 

ultra Federalists hate him, the moderate feel indifference, the 

R 1 is are not cordial. He is supported merely on sec- 

■ zounds. But strange — the ultras will join the radicals — 

the extremes meet. 

General Lafayette has been received with distinguished hon- 
ors, and departed this morning for Boston. His whole jour- 
ney will be a procession. What a glorious reward ! I shall 
leave here in a few days for Philadelphia, where I think it im- 
portant to be. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Asotand, August 31, 1824. 

Dear Sir, — Your obliging favor of the 9th inst., dated at 
Saratoga, and those subsequently at New York, have all safely 
arrived. They reached Lexington during my absence on a short 
excursion to one of our watering-places, from which I am but 
just returned. 

I concur with you in thinking that, considering all the com- 
binations that may arise, and the contingences that may happen, 
my friends ought to persevere in their support of me. That, I 
believe, is the course which they have determined on generally. 
And I think the six States heretofore supposed to be disposed to 
support me, may still be relied on. You have no doubt heard 
from Louisiana. Your Governor elect passed through Lexington, 
and I presume you will have seen him. The information de- 
rived from him and other sources, assures us of the unaltered 
state of Louisiana, although in the city of New Orleans, the 
Jackson ticket prevailed in the greater part. Those opposed to 
me in that Stale, admit a plurality of the Legislature to be fa- 
me, while my friends confidently claim the majority. "What is 
most to be apprehended, is, that my friends in the West, or at 
least in some of the more doubtful States, may become dis- 
.couraged by the little prospect of my b< upported to any 

extent in the East, and especially by the statements in the %i Na- 
tional Intelligencer," and other papers, according to which it 



OF HENRY CLAY. 09 

would seem that I have not a friend in the New York Legis- 
lature. 

The anticipated coalition in New York, I should suppose - 
\ ry probable, unless it should he prevented by thi aj prehension 
of the imputation of corruption, bargainingj e •. Perhaps th< 
may he nerve enough to encounter all the odium of those impu- 
tations, considering the quarter from which they must emanate. 
If there he a majority of the Legislature who prefer either of 
two candidates to a third, there is surely reason in an equal di- 
vision of its vote between those two. The effect of such a di- 
vision would doubtless be to exclude the third from the House 
of Representatives, and it would lead to the election of one or 
the other of them most certainly. In the actual state of the 
circumstances of the election, New York would have two 
strings to her bow by dividing her suffrage, and more certainly 
secure influence in the new administration, than by risking her 
whole vote upon one of the candidates, since, if she were so to 
concentrate it, she could not be sure of effecting his election. 

What about the Vice-President ? Is New York desirous of 
electing Mr. Sanford ? Has he any, and what interest there ? 
In Ohio there is a strong disposition to elect a Vice-President 
from Nov/ York, and Mr. Sanford has been favorably brought 
forward there. Here, also, his name has been advantageously 
announced to the public, and there would not be the slightest 
difficulty in his obtaining the votes of both States, and probably 
of the other States inclined to give me their suffrages. 

Be pleased to present my respects to Mrs. Johnston, and be- 
lieve me faithfully and cordially your friend. 



J. S. JOHNSTON TO MR. CLAY. 

PmLADEXTHiA, September 1, 1 
Dear Sir, — I now hand you the letter of General M'Clure 
which I promised you in my last, when I handed you the printed 
letter. 

I purposely avoided seeing General M'Clure at Albany, satisfied 
it was better for Rochester to communicate with him than me,' 
and that the objects and views nr friends are better ace 

plished by a corresponding committee. Besides. I was told y ur 



100 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

friends were as firm and stanch as was necessary ; and, from the 
tone and tenor of this letter, I have no doubt. I will now write 
to all of them, and let them understand distinctly the views taken 
of the state of your interests in New York. 

******** 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, September 19, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I received to-day your favor under date the 
4th, with its inclosnres, as I did your former letters, including 
General M'Clure's letter. I thank you for them. I have directed 
twenty copies of the circular prepared by the Kentucky Com- 
mittee of Correspondence (which I have not seen), to he for- 
warded to you for distribution. Copies have also been ordered 
to most of our friends in Philadelphia and New York. Although 
I have not perused it, I presume, from the pen from which it 
issues, that it is well composed. An address from the same 
quarter has been written to Virginia, intended for that region, 
but so guarded as to do mischief nowhere, if it be published, 
which is to be anticipated. These papers will, I think, contrib- 
ute to arouse and animate my friends. The remark which you 
make is but too true, that there has not been sufficient united ex- 
ertion among them. Every thing is yet going well in the West. 
It is amazing to see the mistakes or misstatements made about it 
at the East. For example : Stratten was said to be elected in 
Missouri, and was claimed by the " Franklin Gazette" for Gen- 
eral Jackson. No, says the " National Journal," although he is 
elected, wo know he is for Mr. Adams. Now, it turns out that 
Scott is elected, and that Stratten declared himself for me. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashlani*, September 3, 1824. 
Dear Sir, — I duly received your obliging favor of the 19th 
ultimo, under date at Now York, transmitting a letter from Mr. 
Ingalls, from whom I had previously received a duplicate. I did 
not, however, answer his letter. Bight months ago, I supposed 
there would be no difficulty in my election as Vice-President, if 



OF HENRY CLAY. 101 

my friends had thought it advisable to press me for that office. 
It would now be extremely difficult, if not impracticable, to ef- 
fect that object, if it were desirable. My friends in the West do 
not attach any very great, perhaps not sufficient, importance to 
that station ; and it would be, I apprehend; nearly impossible now 
to induce them to divert their support of me from die first to the 
second office. And if they could be prevailed on to do it, the 
electoral colleges would hardly be induced, by any possible ex- 
ertion, to unite their individual suffrages on any other candidate 
for the Presidency. There could, therefore, be no support se- 
cured for me in the Atlantic States for the Vice-Presidency, if it 
depended on concert among my Western friends, in regard to the 
office of President. And consequently, if I received any, it must 
be spontaneous, without reference to the direction which my in- 
terest would take as to the Presidency. If my Eastern friends 
think proper to bring me forward for the office of Vice-President, 
I wish it distinctly understood, that it is their own movement, 
unprompted by me. If an idea were taken up that the office 
was sought by me, after all that has occurred, it could not fail 
to be injurious to me. It would be said to display a most inor- 
dinate desire for office, which I certainly am not conscious of 
feeling. It would not look well, in any respect, if it were sup- 
posed that I was instrumental in the attempt to elect me. It is 
certainly a high and dignified office, such as no American citizen 
could readily decline. 

With respect to the movement in Massachusetts to which Mr. 
Ingalls refers, while I concur with you entirely in the state of 
public feeling in New England toward Mr. Adams, I do not be- 
lieve that there is the smallest prospect of diverting the vote of 
Massachusetts from him. There may be some probability of 
such a diversion in other States of that section, but none what- 
ever, I apprehend, in Massachusetts. Depend upon it, that local 
pride, if not attachment, will secure to each of the candidates 
the support of his own State, doubtless with more opposition in 
some instances than in others. It would, therefore, be an act of 
extreme indiscretion, justified by no motive whatever, for me, or 
for any of my friends out of Massachusetts, to say to Mr. [ngalls, 
and to those who are co-operating with him, that I am willing 
to give up all pretensions to the office of President, and to be 
contented with that of Vice-President. 

By the by, it has been said here that a feeling is prevailing in 



102 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

some of the Atlantic cities to make the Marquis Lafayette Vice- 
President. Such a disposition of the office would be highly 
creditable to the national gratitude, if it could be made without 
any constitutional impediment. 

I do not anticipate much from the Philadelphia meeting. It 
is a little remarkable, that my support of the tariff has excited 
against me, in the South, a degree of opposition which is by no 
means counterbalanced by any espousal of my cause in Pennsyl- 
vania and other quarters, where the tariff was so much desired. 
Is this owing to the greater activity which the losing party 
almost always displays than the gaining ? 

I expect every day that the Committee of Correspondence, ap- 
pointed by the Legislature of the State, will prepare their gen- 
eral circular, as suggested in my last. A copy of it shall be for- 
warded to you. Do you correspond with General Peter B. 
Porter ? His residence is Black Rock. 

I can not close without expressing to you my thanks for the 
zeal and interest which you manifest in my favor ; nor without 
adding, that you have fulfilled entirely all my expectations as to 
the discretion which you would manifest. 



J. S. JOHNSTON TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, September 4, 1S24. 

Dear Sir, — I attended a meeting of your friends, to wit, Mr. 
Carey and son, Mr. Hemphill, Mr. Tilman, Mr. Wharton, Dr. 
Chapman, Dr. Godrnan, Mr. Edward Ingcrsoll, etc., to consult 
about the meeting of your friends. It was called without their 
knowledge. They determined to postpone the meeting until 
this day week. Mr. Carey consents to be chairman. A com- 
mittee of correspondence will be organized, and delegates ap- 
pointed. I have no doubt the meeting will be numerous and 
respectable. This Slate might have been secured at a proper 
time, and this Slate would have secured you. Your affairs li 
been trusted to providence. I send you two letters from Boston. 
I hope you h eived General M'Clure's. 

The friends of Crawford arc still very anxious to make you 
Vice-President. Mr. Elliot often speaks of it ; it is much a sub- 



OF IIEN-RY CLAY. 103 

ject of correspondence among them. They count confidently 
upon most of your votes in that event. They say Gallatin 
would not be in the way. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON". 

Ashland, September 10, 1824. 
My dear Sir, — In respect to the Vice-Presidency, I wrote you 
some days ago. When my name was brought forward seriously, 
I resolved neither to offer nor to accept any arrangement in re- 
gard to myself, or to office for others. I have adhered to that 
resolution hitherto, and shall continue to abide by it to the last. 
I considered that I was and ought to be in the hands of the 
public, to be disposed of as it pleased. Most undoubtedly the 
office of Vice-President is one of high respectability and great 
dignity, preferable, in my opinion, to any place in the cabinet. 
If the acceptance of it were offered to me (I mean by the public 
having the right to tender it), 1 could not decline it ; but I can 
not seek it, much less make any sacrifices of honor or duty to 
obtain it. 



J. S. JOHNSTON TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, September 26, 1824. 

Dear Sir, — I have read with pleasure and with attention your 
favor of the 10th September. We agree in every particular with 
regard to the Vice-Presidency. You can not change your posi- 
tion, and your friends arc not disposed. You must abide the 
issue. I have uniformly given the same reply. It was a strange 
idea of Crawford's friends to count on the Western States by 
your withdrawal. I have often explained that to them ; they 
now see and feel the truth. The object of Crawford's friends 
now will be to put down Adams, and, if possible, to prevent his 
being returned, under the idea that his being withdrawn, the 
New England States will vote for him. 

-, receive General Lafayette to-morrow. The concourse of 
people here is very great. The preparations are very expensive 
and very grand. 

I presume he will be received by both Houses in the center 
building. 

There is no idea of making him Vice-President. 



104 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON'. 

' iland, October 2, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 16th and 
19th nil., with the Philadelphia address. I also received one or 
two preceding letters from you, which I have not before ac- 
knowledged the receipt of. ***** 
Mr. Holley, just returned from an Eastern trip, saw Mr. Crawford 
about a fortnight ago, at Fredericktown, on his return from the 
Springs. He says that his gait, articulation, and general ap- 
pearance indicated most clearly the paralysis under which he has 
labored, and that he appeared to be much more infirm than Mr. 
Jefferson at the age of eighty-two, whom he also saw. 

I thank you for your kind admonition about the uncertainty 
as to the pending election, and the utility of repressing a too 
great anxiety. I hope you will not, as you seem to anticipate, 
have any occasion for philosophical exertion on account of your 
own election. * * * * 

I have some thought of passing through Virginia, and visiting 
Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, and Governor Barbour. 



TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Albany, November 17, 1S24. 

Sir, — I have taken the liberty to address you, as a known 
friend of Mr. Clay, for the purpose of stating to you, in a frank 
and unreserved manner, the course of conduct pursued by the 
friends of Mr. Clay toward those of Mr. Crawford, in the choice 
of presidential electors. I trust, for my apology, that the sub- 
ject will excuse my addressing you, without the pleasure of a 
personal acquaintance. 

You will probably have learned the result by the time this 
reaches you, and will also have learned that twenty-live Adams 
electors have been chosen by the co-operation of Mr. Clay's 
friends in the Legislature. It appears to me that a full eqplana- 
tiou is due from the friends of Mr. Clay in New York, to the 
I'll, ads of Mr. Crawford in Virginia, for this course. It is true 
that the friends of Mr. Clay had a perfect right to choose be- 
tween Mr. Crawford and Mr. Adams; but it is also true, that a 
majority of the friends of Mr. Clay were disposed to take up 



OF HENRY CI,AV. 105 

Mr. Crawford as their second choice, if, from any unforeseen con- 
tingency, the former should be withdrawn from the contest. 
With this feeling they came to Albany, and the same feeling 
led them to go into caucus with the friends of Mr. Crawf 
at the commencement of the session. They were resolved to 
support Mr. Clay, because they preferred him, and because they 
really knew that he was the choice of three fourths of the demo- 
cratic party, among the people. This led them, in caucus, to 
assert his claims with great zeal and force. But numbers was 
the only reply they received. The friends of Mr. Crawford had 
a majority in caucus, and though neither party had the majority 
in the Legislature, they, the friends of Mr. Crawford, thou: lit 
proper to insist that the friends of Mr. Clay should submit to 
their numbers, and meekly yield to them, instead of consulting 
their own judgment, and the voice of the State. This was re- 
sisted with becoming spirit, and the consequence was, that they 
were, in effect, expelled from the caucus. They were treated 
with the most insulting contumely, and threatened with the high 
displeasure of the set of individuals known here by the name 
and style of the " Albany Regency." 

This unfortunate state of parties was, for some days, produc- 
tive of no other result than an obstinate adherence, in the 
House, to the respective candidates. Neither party would yield, 
and the consequence would have been, that the vote of the State 
would have been lost. At length, symptoms of respect for pub- 
lic opinion began to be manifested in the ranks of the Crawford 
party, which alarmed the leaders so much that they determined 
to set their hopes upon the hazard of a die, and to drive the 
friends of Mr. Clay to the support of Mr. Crawford. The mode 
of appointing electors, by our laws, enabled them to make this 
desperate attempt. 

Each House nominates thirty-six electors. They then meet 
to compare their lists. If they agree, the whole are, of course, 
chosen ; if not, they proceed to choose, from the two lists only, 
by joint ballot. No name, not on one or the other list, can be 
voted for. Here, then, the leaders of the Crawford party rashly, 
and, according to my ideas of honor and rectitude, corruptly and 
wickedly, determined to vote for the Adams ticket in the lower 
house, so as to reduce the question to Crawford and Adams. A 
fouler and more dishonorable piece of management could not, in 
my estimation, be adopted. They did it, however, and the 



106 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

consequence is as might have been apprehended. The friends 
of Mr. Clay, indignant at this baseness, voted for the Adams 
ticket on joint ballot, with the exception of seven Clay men on 
the Crawford ticket, and by this operation have prostrated the 
Crawford ticket, in this State, forever. They were forced into 
this course. They could not, consistently with their respect for 
themselves and for public opinion, pursue any other. The con- 
sequences must rest upon the heads of those who reduced them 
to that necessity. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant. 

[It is thought proper to suppress the signature ov< c which the 
above letter was written.] 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 
Hardin's, near Ciiaexotteyhle, Virginia, November 26, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — I felt, in your prompt public contradiction of 
the letter of Mr. Dayton, stating that my name had been with- 
drawn as a candidate for the Presidency, a new proof of your 
friendship, which I have ever so highly valued, and at the same 
time a self-reproach for my not having written to you since the 
adjournment of Congress. The truth is, that in the first letter 
which I received from you, after I reached home, you stated 
your intention to visit the watering places, and I did not well 
know where to address you ; and the last which you did me the 
favor to write, was received but a few days before I sat out on 
this journey. I concluded, therefore, to defer the pleasure of 
writing you until I passed the mountains. 

Your prediction has been well nigh verified as to General 
Jackson's taking the "Western vote from me. My friends have 
prevailed over him in Ohio by only about seven or eight hun- 
dred votes. 

Events on this side of the mountains have surprised me, par- 
ticularly in New York, and North Carolina; in the former State 
especially. I know not the secret springs which have produced 
such a strange result as has occurred in New York. I have 
moved none of them. I know nothing but what we see in the 
public prints. From those it is evident, that, if the friends of 
Mr. Crawford and myself had all amicably co-operated, the vote 
of that Stale might have been secured to one or the other, or 



OF HENRY CLAY. 107 

been divided between ns. I am uninformed of what prevented 
that contest. 

I propose visiting Mr. Jefferson to-morrow, and afterward 
Mr. Madison. I shall remain a day or two with each of them, 
and expect to reach Fredericksburg on my way to the city of 
Washington, on the 2d or 3d of December. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington-, December 5, 1824. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 29th October, addressed to 
me at Lexington, not finding me there, has returned and been 
duly received by me here. Events subsequent to its date render 
it unnecessary for me to say any thing in regard to Mr. Ritch- 
ie's communication about the Vice-Presidency. I have also re- 
ceived your obliging letter of the first instant. I had before 
learned the issue of the electoral vote of Virginia. I was pre- 
pared to expect it by all that I had previously observed. Two 
weeks ago a course might have been taken which would proba- 
bly have prevented that result of the Presidential election now 
most likely to happen ; and that was to have prevailed upon Mr. 
Crawford to withdraw, which might have been done, I should 
suppose, without mortification to his friends, by placing it on the 
ground of the continued precarious state of his health. As it is, 
I shall yield a cheerful acquiescence in the public decision. I 
should indeed have been highly gratified if my native State had 
thought me worthy of even a second place in her confidence and 
affection. The obligations and respect which I owe her forbid 
my uttering one word of complaint on account of her having 
thought otherwise. 

Mr. Calhoun deserves all that you say of him. He is a most 
captivating man. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 22, 182 I. 

Mr df.au Sir, — I received your letter by your son, and had 
great pleasure in furnishing him with a letter of introduction to 
Commodore Rogers. 



108 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

I have also received that of the 21st instant, and will examine 
the claim to which it refers, with all the prepossessions which 
arise from your opinion, and my high regard to you. 

The result in Louisiana did not surprise or affect me. There 

was much misfortune attending it nevertheless. * * * 

pair of the Republic. Our institutions, if they 

have the value which we believe them to possess, and are worth 

■•■■. iug, will sustain themselves, and we shall yet do well. 

A bill passed the House of Representatives to-day (1G6 to 26) 
giving to Lafayette $-200,000 and a township of land. 



CHAPTER III 



CORRESPONDENCE OF 1825 AND 1826. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS P. BLAIR. 

Washington, January 8, 1825. 

My dear Sir, — My position in relation to the friends of the 
three returned candidates is singular enough, and often to me 
very amusing. In the first place they all believe that my friends 
have the power of deciding the question, and then that I have 
the power of controlling my friends. Acting upon this suppos i- 
tion, in the same hour, I am sometimes touched gently on the 
shoulder by a friend, for example, of General Jackson, who will 
thus address me, " My dear Sir, all my dependence is upon you, 
don't disappoint us, you know our partiality was for you next to 
the hero ; and how much we want a Western President." Im- 
mediately after a friend of Mr. Crawford will accost me, " The 
hopes of the Republican party are concentrated on you, for 
God's sake preserve it. If you had been returned, instead of Mr. 
Crawford, every man of us would have supported you to the 
last hour. We consider him and you as the only genuine Re- 
publican candidates." Next a friend of Mr. Adams comes with 
tears in his eyes,* " Sir, Mr. Adams has always had the greatest 
respect for you, and admiration of your talents. There is no 
station to which you are not equal. Most undoubtedly you 
are the second choice of New England, and I pray you to con- 
sider seriously whether the public good and your own future 
interests do not point most distinctly to the choice which you 
ought to make." How can one withstand all this disinterested 
homage and kindness ? Really the friends of all three gentlemen 

* A playful allusion to a notable fact. It is all playful, though true. 



HO PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

arc so very courteous and affectionate that I sometimes almost 
wish that it was in my power to accommodate each of them, 
but that being impossible, we are beginning to think seriously 
of the choice which we must finally make. I will tell you then 
that I believe the contest will be limited to Mr. Adams and 
General Jackson. Mr. Crawford's personal condition precludes 
the choice of him if there were no other objection to his elec- 
tion. As the only alternative which is presented to us it is 
sufficiently painful, and I consider whatever choice we may 
make will be only a choice of evils. To both of those gentle- 
men there are strong personal objections. The principal differ- 
ence between them is that in the election of Mr. Adams we shall 
not by the example inflict any wound upon the character of our 
institutions, but I should much fear hereafter, if not during the 
present generation, that the election of the General would give 
to the military spirit a stimulus and a confidence that might lead 
to the most pernicious results. I shall, therefore, with great re- 
gret on account of the dilemma in which the people have placed 
us, support Mr. Adams. My friends are generally so inclined. 
What has great weight with me is the decided preference which 
a majority of the delegation from Ohio has for him over General 
Jackson. If, therefore, Kentucky were to vote for the General 
it would probably only have the effect of dividing our friends, 
without defeating ultimately the election of Mr. Adams. Three 
of the four States favorable to Mr. Crawford arc believed to pre- 
fer Mr. Adams to the General. Virginia is one of them. I am 
inclined to think that nearly three-fourths of our delegation have 
yielded to the influence of these views, and will vote for Mr. 
Idams. My friends entertain the belief that their kind wishes 
toward me will in the end be more likely to be accomplished 
by so bestowing their votes. I have, however, most earnestly 
entreated them to throw me out of their consideration in 
bringing their judgments to a final conclusion, and to look 
and be guided solely by the public good. If I know myself, 
that alone has determined me. your Representative is in 
clined to concur with us in these sentiments and views, and if 
they should meet your approbation, as I know he has great re- 
specl for yi ar opinions, 1 would be glad if you would by the re- 
turn mail address a letter to him to strengthen him in his incli- 
nation. Be pleased to show this letter to Crittenden alone. 



OF HENRY CLAY. HI 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

"WAsniNGTo.v, January 2', l c 

My dear Sir, — My position, in regard to the Presidential 
election, is highly critical, and such as to leave me no path on 
which T can move without censure. I have pursued, in regard 
to it, the rule which I always observe in the discharge of my pub- 
lic duty — I have interrogated my conscience as to what I ought 
to do, and that faithful guide tolls me that I ought to vote for 
Mr. Adams. I shall fulfill its injunction. Mr. Crawford's state 
of health, and the circumstances under which he presents him- 
self to the House, appear to me to he conclusive against him. 
Asa friend of liberty, and to the permanence of our institutions, 
I can not consent, in this early stage of their existence, by con- 
tributing to the election of a military chieftain, to give the 
strongest guaranty that the Republic will march in the fatal 
road which has conducted every other republic to ruin. I owe 
to our friendship this frank exposition of my intentions. I am, 
and shall continue to be, assailed by all the abuse, which parti- 
san zeal, malignity, and rivalry, can invent. I shall risk, with- 
out emotion, these effusions of malice, and remain unshaken in 
my purpose. What is a public man worth, if he will not ex- 
pose himself, on fit occasions, for the good of his country? 

As to the result of the election, I can not speak with absolute 
certainty; but there is every reason to believe that we shall 
avoid the dangerous precedent to which I allude. 

Be pleased to give my respects to Mr. , and believe me 

always your cordial friend. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS P. BLAIR. 

Washington, January 29, 1825. 
My dear Blair, — I received this morning your very agreeable 
•r of the 17th instant. A letter from you is always refresh- 
ing ; and I wish that I could entitle myself to expect them more 
frequently, by more punctuality and diligence on my part in 
our correspond tee. My last letter informed you of the unc- 
tion that was un< ly applied to me by all the return 
didates for the Presidency, or rather their friends. Since thea 
I have avowed my intention to support Mr. Adams, under ac- 



112 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

tual circumstances, and thereupon the oil has been instantly 

transformed into vinegar. The friends of have turned 

upon me, and with the most amiable i lity agree to vitu- 

perate mc. I am a deserter from democracy : a giant at in- 
trigue ; have sold the West — sold myself — defeating General 
.son's election to leave open the Western pretensions that 
I may hereafter fill them myself — blasting all my fair prospects, 
etc., etc. To these are added a thousand other of the most gen- 
tle and kind, and agreeable epithets and things in the world. 

, who are themselves straining every nerve to elect 

Jackson that the claims of the West may be satisfied and I be 
thereby pretermitted, are accusing me of acting on their own 
principles. The knaves can not comprehend how a man can be 
honest. They can not conceive that I should have solemnly 
interrogated my conscience and asked it to tell me seriously 
what I ought to do. That it should have enjoined me not to 
establish the dangerous precedent of elevating, in this early 
stage of the Republic, a military chieftain, merely because he 
has won a great victory ? That it should have told me that a 
public man is undeserving his station who will not, regardless 
of aspersions and calumnies, risk himself for his country ? I 
am afraid that you will think me moved by these abuses. Be 
not deceived. I assure you that I never in my whole life felt 
more perfect composure, more entire confidence in the resolu- 
tions of my judgment, and a more unshakable determinati >n to 
march up to my duty. And, my dear sir, is there an intelligent 
and unbiased man who must not, sooner or later, concur vith 
Mr. Adams you know well I should never have selected, 
if at liberty to draw from the whole mass of our citizens xor a 
President. But there is no danger in his elevation now, or in 
to come. Not so of his competitor, of whom I can not be- 
lieve that killing two thousand five hundred Englishmen at 
New Orleans, qualifies for the various, difficult, and complicated 
duties of the chief magistracy. I perceive that I am uncon- 
scionsly writing a sort of defense, which you may possibly thiik 
implies guilt. What will be the result? you will ask wi h 
curiosity, it" not anxiety. I think Mr. Adams must be eleete 1, 
such is the prevailing opinion. Still I shall not consider tin 
matter as certain until the election is over. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 113 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 4, 18:25. 

My de\r Sir, — I received your obliging letter of the 1st inst. 
Although my letter, to which it is an answer, was not intended 
for public ition, I would rather that it should be published, and 
ik for itself, than that its contents should appear through the 
medium of Mr. Ritchie's representation of them. With regard to 
its publication, you will he pleased to do as you may think proper. 
All that I feel anxious about is, that the public should not receive 
an impression that it was my intention that it should bo published. 

My condition at this moment is most peculiar. The batteries 
of some of the friends of every man who would now be President, 
or who, four or eight years hence, would be President, are di- 
rected against me, with only the exception of those of Mr. 
Adams. Some of the friends of General Jackson, Mr. Crawford, 
Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Clinton, with very different ultimate ends, 
agree for the present to unite in assailing me. The object now 
is, on the part of Mr. Crawford and General Jackson, to drive me 
from the course which my deliberate judgment points out ; and 
for the future, on the part of Mr. Clinton and Mr. Calhoun, to 
remove me as an obstacle to their elevation. They all have yet 
to learn my character if they suppose it possible to make me 
swerve from my duty, by any species of intimidation or denun- 
ciation. But I did not expect that my old friend Ritchie would 
join in the general cry. He ought to recollect that he is strug- 
gling for a man, I for the country — he to elevate an unfortunate 
gentleman worn down by disease, I to preserve our youthful 
institutions from the bane which has destroyed all the republics 
of the old world. I might have expected, from the patriotism 
of Thomas Ritchie, that he would have surrend o d his personal 
predilections, and joined with me in the effort to save us from a 
precedent fraught with the most pernicious consequences. I am 
so far disappointed : I say it with mortification and regret. But 
all attempts to make me unite with him, to induce me to give 
up the defense of our institutions, that we may elect a sick gen- 
tleman, who has also been rejected by the great body of the 
nation, arc vain and utterly fruitless. Mr. Ritchie ought to 
awake, should be himself again, and love Rome more than Caesar. 

I observe what you kindly tell me about the future cabinet. 
Hy dear sir, I want no ollice. When have I shown an avidity 



114 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

for office ? In rejecting the mission to Russia, and the depart- 
ment of war under one administration ? In rejecting the same 
department, the mission to England, or any other foreign mission, 
under the succeeding administration? If Mr. Adams is elected, 
I know not who will be his cabinet ; I know not whether I 
shall be offered a place in it or not. If there should be an offer, 
I shall decide upon it, when it may be made according to my 
sense of duty. But do you not perceive that this denunciation 
of me, by anticipation, is a part of the common system between 
the discordant confederates which I have above described ? 
Most certainly, if an office should be offered to me under the 
new administration, and I should be induced to think that I 
ought to accept it, I shall not be deterred from accepting it, either 
by the denunciations of open or secret enemies, or the hypocrisy 
of pretended friends. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 10, 1: 

My dear Sir, — I received your letters of the 0th and Sth inst. 
In the former was inclosed a ten dollar note, about which not 
one word was contained in your letters. Was it inclosed by 
mistake ? or did you intend that I should apply it to some object 
for you ? Be pleased to instruct me. 

The " Jong agony" was terminated yesterday, and Mr. Adams 
was elected on the first ballot. Exertions to defeat, and even to 
defer the result, of the most strenuous kind, were made up to the 
last moment. Without referring to the issue of the election, the 
manner in which the whole scene was exhibited in the House 
of Representatives was creditable to our institutions and to our 
country. 

I have not yet received the " Enquirer," in which my letter 
has been published. It did not arrive to-day. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 18, 1825. 
Mv dear Stu. — When the subject of the offer of the Depart- 
ment of State to me was first opened to my congressional friends, 
there existed among them some diversity of opinion as to the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 115 

propriety of my accepting it. On the one hand, it was said that, 
if I took it, that fact would he treated as conclusive evidence of 
the justice of the imputations which have been made 
me ; that the House of Representatives was my theater ; that 
the administration would want me there, if it should prove itself 
worthy of support, more than in the cabinet; and that my own 
section would not like to see me translated from the legislative 
hall to the executive departments. 

On the other hand, it was urged that, whether I accepted or 
declined the office, I should not escape severe animadversion ; 
that, in the latter contingency, it would be said that the patriotic 
Mr. Kremer, by an exposure of the corrupt arrangement, ha I 
prevented its consummation ; that the very object of propagating 
the calumny would be accomplished ; that, conscious of my own 
purity of intentions, I ought not to give the weight of a feather 
to Mr. Kremer's affair ; that there would be much difficulty in 
filling the administration without me ; that either of the other 
candidates, if he had been elected, would have made me the 
same offer ; that it would be said of me that, after having con- 
tributed to the election of a President, I thought so ill of him, 
that I would not take the first place under him ; that he was 
now the constitutional head of the Government, and, as such, I 
ought to regard him, dismissing any personal objections which I 
might have heretofore had to him ; that I had. perhaps, remained 
long enough in the House of Representatives ; and that my own 
section could not be dissatisfied with seeing me placed where, 
if I should prove myself possessed of the requisite attainments, 
my services might have a more extended usefulness. 

On mature consideration, those of my friends who were 
originally averse to my entering the office, changed their 
opinion, and I believe they were finally unanimous in thinking 
that I ought not to hesitate in taking upon myself its duties. 
Those of Mr. Adams, especially in New England, were alike 
unanimous, and indeed extremely urgent in their solicitations. 
Several of Mr. Crawford's friends (Mr. McLane, of Delaware, 
Mr. Porsythe, Mr. Mangum, etc., etc.), and also some of those of 
General Jackson, in Pennsylvania, have expressed lo me their 
strong convictions that I ought to accept. The opposition to 
my acceptance is limited chiefly to the violence of Mr. Calhoun's 
friends, and to some of these of Mr. Crawford and General 
Jackson. 



11G PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

From the first, I determined to throw myself into the hands 
of my friends, and if they advised me to decline the office, not 
to accept it, but if they thought it was my duty, and for the 
public interest, to go into it, to do so. I have an unaffected re- 
pugnance to any executive employment, and my rejection of the 
offer, if it were in conformity to their deliberate judgment, would 
have been more compatible with my feelings, than its acceptance. 

But as their advice to me is to accept, I have resolved 
accordingly, and I have just communicated my final determi- 
nation to Mr. Adams. I am not yet at liberty to commu- 
nicate the names of the persons who will fill the other vacant 
departments ; but I will say to you, that they will be Republicans. 
I entertain a strong belief, and sanguine hopes, that the adminis- 
tration will be conducted upon principles which will entitle it to 
liberal and general support. An opposition is talked of here ; 
but I regard that as the ebullition of the moment, the natural 
offspring of chagrin and disappointment. There are elements 
for faction ; none for opposition. Opposition to what ? To 
measures and principles which arc yet to be developed ! Oppo- 
sition may follow, it can not precede the unknown measures of 
administration, without incurring the denomination of faction. 
Mr. Adams is on his trial. Hear him, and then decide. This is 
the natural sentiment of every candid and impartial mind. He 
would not have been my President, if I had been allowed to 
range at large among the great mass of our citizens, to select a 
President ; but I was not so allowed, and circumscribed as I was, 
I thought that, under all circumstances, he was the best choice 
that I could practicably make. 

I received your kind letter of the 16th instant, and lam happy 
to find that your better judgment points to the course which I. 
am about to take. I hope that, on further reflection, my other 
Richmond friends will probably unite in sentiment with you. 

This is not written for publication in whole, or in part, but I 
request you to show it to Mr. Call, Mr. Leigh, and Mr. Ritchie, 
who will have the goodness to regard it in the same confidential 
light. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 117 



J. J. CRITTENDEN TO MR. CLAY. 

Fbaskfoet, Feb. 15, 1825. 

Dear Sir, — Wc arc all waiting with breathless impatience, to 
know the result of the Presidential election. It was rumored 
here a few days past, that a coalition had been formed between 
Jackson and Crawford ; that New York, Virginia, etc., follow 
into its ranks; that it was bearing on irresistibly and triumph- 
antly : and that you and Adams were its destined victims. The 
mail of last night, however, brought no confirmation of this 
terrible rising, and we are all settling down again into the 
opinion which has for some time prevailed here, that Adams is to 
be the President. 

I have seen the abuse that has been heaped upon you in some 
of the newspapers, and your card, in the "Intelligencer." I con- 
fess that I feel some apprehension for you. There are about 
you a thousand desperadoes, political and military, following at 
the heels of leaders, and living upon expectations, that would 
think it a most honorable service to fasten a quarrel upon Mr. 
Clay, and shoot him. And this card of yours, evincing such a 
spontaneous and uncalculating spirit of gallantry, will be a signal, 
I fear, for some of these fellows to gather about you, and to 
endeavor to provoke you to some extremity. For God's sake 
be upon your guard, at least, as it respects these subalterns. As 
for the abuse there has been heaped upon you, you may safely 
regard it as the idle wind that passes by. I expected to hear 
you vilified. You occupy too lofty and imposing a stand, to 
escape. You prefer Mr. Adams under existing circumstances, 
and for that you are calumniated. And so it would equally 
have been, had you announced your preference for either of the 
other competitors. 

If, notwithstanding your support of Adams, Jackson should be 
elected, that circumstance would certainly embolden your com- 
paratively few adversaries in this State, and enable them for a 
little while to excite some petty clamor against you. But no 
such thing can displace you from the hold you have on the pride 
and affections of Kentucky. If Adams is el ! and you will 
accept a station in his cabinet, all will be quieted in a moment. 
This is my view. 

I think I can see the policy which dictates the charges which 
are now made against you of " going over to Mr. V.dams," of 



118 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

having " made your bargain" with him, and of a thousand other 
horrible conspiracies, etc. It is intended to intimidate you, if 
possible, from the acceptance of the Department of State -which 
they think INI r. Adams must tender to you, and where they 
tremble to see you. They wish to obstruct your passage to it 
by heaping up the way with all the falsehood and calumny they 
can create and invent. This is the real secret of the whole 
business, as I think. Whether I am right or wrong, I trust you 
will hold on your course unshaken and unaltered by all the cal- 
umny, falsehood, and scandal of your enemies. It will not be 
long before it will all recoil on themselves. I think it is due to 
yourself, to your friends here, and to the expectation and wishes 
of the State, that you should accept the office of Secretary of 
State, if it should be offered to you. Some few of your friends 
think your present station the more elevated and commanding 
one, and of course that you should retain it. Whatever may be 
its nominal elevation, its practical importance and power is not 
to be compared with that of the Department of State. The Chair 
of the House of Representatives is undoubtedly a very high and 
lofty station, but all its honors and advantages are of the abstract, 
fruitless kind, and I am now convinced that no man will live to 
see the incumbent of that Chair transferred at once to the Presi- 
dency. You best know, however, what course to pursue. That 
it may be a prosperous and happy one, is my earnest wish. 



W. CREIGHTON TO MR. CLAY. 

( HiixicoTiiE, February 10, 1825. 

My dear Sir, — I was gratified to learn by the mail of this 
morning that the long agony is over, and particularly that the 
contest was terminated on the first ballot. A protracted ballot 
could not have failed to produce great excitement, both within 
and without. Here there is entire acquiescence. The inflam- 
mable materials artificially excited in Pennsylvania and New 
^ oik, will soon spend themselves. Thinking it probable, in the 
event of ?\lr. Adams' ele< tion, you might be invited to the admin- 
istration, the qui tion propi unded in your letter of the 7th instant, 
is one on which I have thought a deal this winter, and 

have end( av< r< d, with the f< eble lights I j . t< \ ■ w it in 

all its ulterior bearings. Necessarily ignorant of many circum- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 119 

stances that may exist at Washington that ma\ have a bearing, 
■pro or con, my opinion is. if the offer i ■, you ought to 

accept. This opinion is formed, regardless of the scurrility and 
abuse that the election has given rise to. If a man could suffer 
himself to be driven from his purpose b\ ns like these, he 

would always be- at the mercy of the profligate and unprincipled. 
In the expression of this opinion, it is taken for granted that Air. 
Adams will pursue a liberal policy, and embrace within its scope 
the great leading policy that you have been advocating. By 
uniting with such an Administration, you could not be charged, 
by the most fastidious, with a dereliction of principle for place. 

I could not, within the compass of a letter, detail my reasons 
for the opinion expressed, and therefore shall not attempt it. 
Should the invitation be given, your friends in Ohio will ac- 
quiesce in whatever decision you make. 

AVill our friend Cheves be invited to the Treasury ? 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 4, 1825. 

My dear Sir, — I have the gratification to tell you that all my 
information from the West bespeaks a satisfied state of the pub- 
lic mind, in relation to the result of the late election. In Ohio 
the approbation of it is enthusiastic. In Kentucky, too, the ex- 
pression of public opinion evinces general accpiiescence. 

I transmit to you, inclosed, two letters, which are from Critten- 
den and Creighton, two of the most discreet men in Ohio and 
Kentucky. Be pleased to show them to Mr. Pleasants. 



JOHN TYLER TO MR. CLAY 

Chaki.es City, March 27, 182 

Dear Sir, — In the midst of the numerous accusations which 
have of late been urged against you from different quarters. 
and from none with more acrimony than from the scat of 
Government of this State, I have deemed it proper, and in some 
measure called for, to make known to you that one of the mil- 
lion at least, still regarded you as I am satisfied you deserve to 



120 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

be regarded. Instead of seeing in your course on the late pres- 
idential question aught morally or politically wrong, I am on the 

contrary fully impressed with the belief that the United States 
owes you a deep debt of gratitude for that course, resulting as 
it did in the speedy settlement of that distracting subject. Be- 
lieving Mr. Crawford's chance of success to have been utterly 
dc . you have not only met my wishes (which would be 

to you of little concern), but I do believe, the wishes and feel- 
ings of a large majority of the people of this your native State. 
I do not believe that the sober and reflecting people of Virginia 
would have been so far dazzled by military renown as to have 
conferred their suffrages upon a mere soldier — one acknowl- 
edged on all hands to be of little value as a civilian. I will 
not withhold from you also the expression of my approval of 
your acceptance of your present honorable and exalted station. 
To have refused it would have been to have furnished your ene- 
mies with fresh ground of objection. Against an insiduous and 
malicious attack you courted an investigation not only before the 
Representatives of the people, but by accepting the office, be- 
fore the Senate, and gave just evidence of your purity by your 
readiness to encounter your accusers, supported as they were by 
the virulence and intemperance of party feeling on the part of 
some of your very judges. For a time the tide may run against 
you, but when the ferment, excited by the feelings of the day, 
shall have subsided, and men shall regard things with unpreju- 
diced eyes, your motives and your acts will be justly appreciated 
and the plaudits of your country will await you. This is not 
the Ian iiage of flattery to one lifted high in authority. As an 
American citizen I claim to be your equal. It is the voluntary 
oil'. >f truth at the shrine of patriotism, and is called for by the 

circumstance of our having been, in times past, fellow laborers in 
the same vineyard of our common country, although I was at the 
time an unprofitable servant. When one, however, is led 

by unjusl reproaches, the expression of confidence from a quar- 
ter even the most humble .Mid the most retired can not but be 
acceptable. It is under the influence of this feeling and of this 
belief that I have thus ventured to address you. 

I pray you to accept assurances of my sincere regard and un- 
shaken confidence. 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 121 



CHIEF JUSTICE .MARSHALL TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, April -i, 1S25. 
Dear Sir, — I have received your address to your former 
constituents; and, as it was franked by you, I presume I am in- 
debted to you for it. I have read it with great pleasure as well 
as attention, and am gratified at the full and complete view you 
have given of some matters which the busy world has been em- 
ploying itself upon. I required no evidence respecting the charge 
made by Mr. Kremcr, nor should I have required any had I been 
unacquainted with you or with the transaction, because I have long 
since ceased to credit charges destitute of proof, and to consider 
them as mere aspersions. The minuteness of detail, however, 
will enable your friends to encounter any insinuations on that 
subject Which may be thrown out in their hearing. More of 
this may be looked for than any hostility to you would produce. 
There is unquestionably a party determined to oppose Mr. 
Adams at the next election, and this party will attack him 
through you. It is an old, and has been a successful stratagem. 
No part of your letter was more necessary than that which 
respects your former relations with that gentleman. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 6, 1S25. 
My dear Sir, — From your letter of the 5th instant, which 1 
this day received, I perceive you are at home, and not at Rich- 
mond, to which I had transmitted to you one of my addresses to 
my constituents. The favorable opinion entertained of it by 
such early and valuable friends as yourself and Nicholas, is highly 
gratifying. Among other similar testimonies from Richmond, I 
have received, from the Chief Justice, a very satisfactory letter. 
Prior to the publication of my address, Mr. Tyler wrote me a 
letter, approving of my course (since he believed Ml-. Crawford 
to have been out of the question), and declai rms, 

his unabated confidence in me. From all quart 
information is constantly pouring in upon me, in every form, 
evincing general and hearty approbation of my late public 
course. My triumph will be, as it ought, complete and entire 



122 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

over the base confederacy against me. As to Porsythe, he cer- 
tainly advised me, in unqualified terms, to accept the Department 
of State. T myself attached no particular importance to his 
opinion, though I supposed others might. He was with me on 
the 30th or 29th of last month, had a long conversation, in the 
course of which he praised my address, and, entre nous, gave in 
his adhesion. I have no curiosity to see his letter. I under- 
stand him thoroughly. He did not mention one word about his 
letter to you, or his correspondence with you. "What could he 
say to me ? 

I share with you in your grief for the death of Airs. Randolph. 
I have known her from my earliest youth. She deserved all 
that you have so well said in behalf of her memory. 

I find my office no bed of roses. With spirits never more 
buoyant, twelve hours work per day are almost too much for my 
physical frame. An entire harmony as to public measures exists 
between Mr. Adams and me. 

I return you Nicholas' letter. 

P. S. Was ever any thing so silly as for Eaton to publish his 
correspondence with me ? I am greatly deceived if he has not 
come out worse than he stood before. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston*, April 'Z, 1825. 

My dear Sir, — I am obliged to you for a copy of your address 
to your constituents. It has been widely circulated here, is 
universally read, and highly commended. I have heard but one 
opinion as to its general merits. Some think that part which 
relates to Mr. Kremer's letter, and the incidents connected with 
it, was an unnecessary labor, at least so far as regards the state 
of public opinion this way. That transaction seems to have 
made no impression here. The part of your address which sets 
forth your reasons for preferring another candidate to General 
Jackson is composed, in my opinion, with great skill and ability, 
and I have no doubt it will produce a very strong effect. It is 
a very good case, very ably managed. 

We are very quiel in this quarter. There is very little dis- 
satisfaction, and no disposition, that I discover, to opposition. 



OF IIKXKY CLAY. 123 

With almost all there prevails a very good spirit ; and the excep- 
tions arc not important, from weight of character or influenc . 

I have heard nothing, since I left Washington, respecting the 
English mission. If any thing has occurred, not impropei foi 
me t<- know, I should he glad to learn it from you at your I 
ure ; and I shall be gratified also to hear from you on i I 
subjects and occasions. 



JUDGE STORY TO MR. CLAY. 

Salest, April 8, 1825. 

Dear Sir, — I am much obliged to you for the copy of your 
address to your late constituents, which you have been pleased 
to send me. I read it with great interest and satisfaction. As a 
vindication of your character and conduct, it was to me wholly 
unnecessary, for I have never entertained the slightest doubt of 
the perfect correctness of the motives of your vote in the recent 
presidential election. I have considered it as a new proof of 
your integrity, independence, and firmness. Pardon me if I add, 
that if your vote had been other than it was, I would have found 
it somewhat difficult to have reconciled it with your known 
public opinions on subjects intimately connected with executive 
duties. 

I have no doubt that the address will meet with general ap- 
probation, I do not say among warm partisans of other candi- 
dates, but among reflecting, considerate men of all parties. In 
this part of the Union it has received unqualified praise, and has 
given a new luster to your public fame. 

I hope you may long live to enjoy the confidence of the na- 
tion, and to remain a blessing to the country ; and I beg you 
will do me the favor of numbering me among those who cherish 
with the sincerest pleasure every expression of public regard 
toward you. 



LEWIS CASS TO MR. CLAY. 



Dethoit, April 11, 1825. 

Dear Sir, — I have just fil I the perusal of your masterly 

address to your late constituents, and I can not refrain from ex- 
pressing to you the high satisfaction it has afforded me. It is a 



124 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

triumphant refutation of the vile slanders which have been 
propagated respecting the motives of your conduct in the pe- 
culiar circumstances in which you were recently placed. You 
may safely commit your character to the judgment of your 
countrymen, and of posterity. They will not fail to award you 
full justice. 

I must ask your indulgence for this almost involuntary tribute 
to your claims and services. So strong is the impression which 
your appeal has made upon me, that I could not restrain this ex- 
pression of my feelings. 



PRESIDENT HOLLEY TO MR. CLAY. 

Tr.ANsyLVANi.Y Umvehsitt, April 18, 1825. 

Dear Sir, — I am much obliged to you for a copy of your ad- 
dress to your late constituents. It appears to me to be able, 
frank, and satisfactory. Your immediate friends did not need 
such a communication to keep them from yielding to the calum- 
nies which were heaped upon you for the independent and mag- 
nanimous course that you pursued in regard to the election of 
the President. The publication, however, will, I am convinced, 
do great good, or rather has done it already. There is but one 
sentiment upon the subject in this vicinity, so far as comments 
have reached my cars. All arc satisfied with the facts and the 
reasonings. I have no doubt that there are some among us, who 
would be better pleased, if you had not defended yourself, or if 
you had made your statement with less calmness, judgment, and 
ability. This number can not be great. 

I have just read the correspondence between yourself and Mr. 
Eaton. I am blinded, or it was weakness in him to publish it. 
He has left the community to believe that he was concerned in 
Krcmer's conspiracy, even to a greater extent than might other- 
wise have been supposed. He appears to begin with a demand 
for explanation, which is given only in reference to the first let- 
ter, and ends the correspondence without obtaining any satisfac- 
tion upou some of the most material points, and with new evi- 
dence fastened upon him of connivance, and indeed of active 
exertions in the base affair. I at first regretted to see Mr. Eaton's 
name in your address, but he has now shown himself worthy of 
reprobation from the community. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 125 

MR. CLAY TO GENERAL GAINES.* 

Washington, April 29, 1 
Sir, — Having met with General Brown to-day. and fearing 
that I might not have the pleasure to see you, F requested him to 
make a communication to you respecting an incident which oc- 
curred in the President's house a few days ago. Upon calling 
at your lodgings this morning I was unfortunate in not finding 
you at them. The incident to which I allude is this : Upon 
leaving the President, with whom I had heen engaged in official 
consultation, I unexpectedly met, on coming out of his receiv- 
ing-room, at the door of it, in the adjoining room, General 

Brown, yourself, and a young gentleman, Mr. , to whom, as 

your aid, I was introduced by General Brown. Both the meet- 
ing and the introduction were entirely unexpected by me. Upon 

being presented to Mr. I walked up to him and offered him 

my hand in my usual manner, which he declined receiving. I 
remarked nothing offensive in his countenance, but he distinctly 
evinced an unwillingness to reciprocate that mode of salutation. 
Attaching no particular virtue to the touch of his hand, I turned 
off and left the room. Upon reflection on the occurrence, it ap- 
peared to me that if the young gentleman designed an affront to 
a total stranger, he could not have possibly selected an apartment 
of the President's house, at the very door of his receiving-room, 
and within the hearing, if not in the view, of the Chief Magis- 
trate, to give the affront. I had a right, therefore, to conclude 
that he had some cutaneous disease with which he was unwill- 
ing to infect me, or that, as he kept his hand inclosed in his 
coat or waistcoat, that some newly-established etiquette forbade 
the ancient and unfashionable mode of salutation. But on my 
return from the office to my lodgings yesterday afternoon, I per- 
ceived your visiting-card, unaccompanied by that of any other 
person ; from which I have supposed that I may have miscon- 
ceived the intentions of Mr. and that he really meditated 

offering me an insult. Upon that supposition this note is ad- 
dressed to you, with the sole object that you may impress upon 
the member of your family, to whom I refer, the utility of the 



* This letter was sent to General Gaines, at his lodgings in the city of Washing- 
ton, on the day of its date, hut he had left it, and tho letter was never transmit- 
ted to him. II. C 



126 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

observance of urbanity as a necessary part of that discipline for 
which the American army, generally, is so eminently distin- 
guished. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 29, 1825. 

My dear Sir, — I have just received your favor of the 27th. 
i aid not know that the extract published by Mr. Pleasants was 
from a letter written by you. The same thing has been told 
to me by several, and, among others, by Mr. Wilson Allen, of 
the Bowling Green, and Colonel H. Mercer. I think you ought 
to take no notice of the contradiction of Air. Ritchie. Your 
name is not before the public as the writer of the letter. If it 
were, you might be considered as pledged to sustain the assertion. 
Mr. Allen told me that Mr. Crawford's warmest friends in Fred- 
ericksburg, after seeing him, admitted his incompetency for the 
office. I think I would let it stand where it does. We ought 
to make great allowances for chagrin and disappointment. I 
i Mr. Crawford could have been seen at Richmond. Mr. 
Van Buren told me that they had committed a great error in 
not withdrawing him in May last, on account of his want of 
health. 

From all quarters, the testimony which I get, public and pri- 
vate, of the public approbation of my late conduct, is full, com- 
plete, and triumphant. They are preparing in Kentucky to give 
me an enthusiastic reception. But you see they will not let me 
alone. Ingham has just made his appearance, and I wish he 
would writ*,' 1-y the league instead of the yard. The next shot 
will be from McDuffic, or from Nashville, or from both. 



JAMES BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

P.uus, May 10, 1825. 

Dear Sir, — I received your letter of the 29th March, inclosing 
one directed to Mr. Schaffer, acknowledging, on the part of the 
House of Representatives, the receipt of his excellent portrait 
of our good friend, General Lafayette, presented to that body. 
This letter I delivered to Mr. Schaffer on the 5tb instant, and at 
the same time intimated to him, in such terms as could in no 



OF HENRY CLAY. 127 

way compromise the House, that yon had been restrained 
by the advice of General Lafayette and his son, from makin 
movement toward a more suitable return for that valuable pres- 
ent. Mr. SchafTcr expressed his entire approbation of the course 
wbi.li bad been recommended by his friends, and assured me 
that the acknowledgment had been made in the manner most 
agreeable to his feelings and wishes. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, September 2, ] . . 

My dear Sir, — I received your kind letter of the 29th ultimo, 
and thank you for the friendly expression of sympathy which it 
contains. Our late affliction* was rendered still more severe by 
the circumstances under which it occurred. I did not yield to 
the urgent calls of duty here, until I had the strongest assurances 
from the attending physician that there was no danger. And, 
after leaving Lebanon, the first information I received of the sad 
event which occurred there, reached me, when I was within 
about twenty miles of this place, through the " Intelligencer." 

I received, perused, and now retain Judge Duval's letter. His 
wishes in behalf of his son will be considered ; but the fact that 
he has one son a governor under the general Government and 
another holding a captain's commission (this latter now applying 
for another appointment), will operate somewhat against his suc- 
cess. 

You must feel gratified that our old friend Troop has finally 
concluded to abstain from surveying the Creek lands, and of 
course that all danger is dissipated of disturbing the public peace. 



PRESIDENT KIRKLAND TO MR. CLAY. 

IT.u-.vakd University, Cambridge,- September 22, i 
Dear Sir, — I have the honor of informing you, that the gov- 
ernment of Harvard University did. at the last Commencement, 
in expression of their sense of your professional and general at- 
tainments, and your distinguished character and standing, confer 
on you the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. 

* Death of a daughter. 



128 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

The diploma will be made out and sent to yon. In the hope 
of your favorable consideration of this token of our respect, I 
have the honor to be, etc. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston-, September 28, 1825. 
Dear Sir, — Under another cover I send you what has oc- 
curred to me on the subject of our trade with England. The 
object of this is, to express my sympathy for your domestic ca- 
lamity, and to offer my congratulations on the welcome so ardent 
and so universal, which seems to have greeted you among your 
fellow-citizens of the West. The same kindness of feeling 
which has been expressed in that quarter, exists, I believe, in 
other places. I have been through New York in the course of 
the summer, and I found almost every where, a hearty approba- 
tion, and every where else, at least, an entire and not uneasy 
acquiescence, in regard to the events of last winter, and to your 
own agency in producing those events. In New England, with 
here and there a little expression of spleen from the disappointed, 
the great majority of the people have the best disposition toward 
the Government, in all its parts. Our ability in Congress is not 
so great as it might have been, and as it ought to have been. 
But that evil admits of no immediate cure. 

You must allow me to admonish you to take care of your 
health. Knowing the ardor and the intensity with which you 
may probably apply yourself to the duties of your place, I fear 
very much you may overwork yourself. Somebody (was it not 
an Austrian minister ?) on being asked how he could get through 
so much business, replied that he did it by repudiating two false 
maxims, which had obtained currency among men ; that, for 
his part, he never did any thing to-day, which he could put off 
till to-morrow; nor any thing himself, which he could get 
another to do for him. Without following his example strictly 
and literally, I still think you ought to be a good deal governed 
by the same rules, especially the last. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 129 



MR. ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, October 12, 1 

Deab Sir, — I have received two letters from you, and several 
packets from the Department of State, concerning the contents 
of which I have thought it advisable to wait until I could have 
the pleasure of conferring personally with you. There is in my 
mind but one objection to the appointment which you suggest, 
and that is perhaps removed at least by the authority of respect- 
able precedent. Although detained here longer than I had in- 
tended, I still purpose to be with you, at the latest, by the 25th 
instant. 

I inclose, addressed to you, thirty and ten blank patents signed 
by me, received yesterday from Dr. Thornton, for my signature. 

I pray you to present my kind respects to Governor Barbour, 
Mr. Rush, and Mr. Southard, from each of whom I have re- 
ceived letters, which perpetual motion has prevented me from 
answering. 



JAMES BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, October 13, 1825. 

Sir, — I had the pleasure of receiving your letter sent by the 
Brandywine, and most sincerely sympathize with you and 3Irs. 
Clay in the sad calamity you have suffered in the loss of your 
dear little daughter. She had attained that age at which children 
are particularly interesting, and in the absence of her sisters, 
would have been for many years an agreeable companion to her 
mother. These, however, are misfortunes which it pleases 
Providence to inflict, and for which time and resignation are the 
only remedies. It has, perhaps, been fortunate that this melan- 
choly event has been succeeded immediately by the variety of 
traveling, and the occupation attendant on forming a new estab- 
lishment. These serve in some degree to divert the mind from 
its afflictions, and to blunt the edge of misfortune. 

General Lafayette has arrived in good health at Lagrange, 
and I sincerely hope he will wisely avoid any interference in 
public affairs, and content with the honors he has received in the 
United States, will pass the remainder of his days in tranquillity. 

9 



130 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

i • : \\\-ge, October 28, 1825. 

My bear Sir, — I am the more anxiously waiting, for the 
packet of the 1st instant, as an account of your having been sick, 
since my departure, hns appeared in the French papers. Yet 
there are evident inaccuracies in the report. Now I must hasten 
■ lines to the Cadmus, which sails on the 1st November. I 
have written to the President, sending him an article of the Jour- 
nal des Debats, which may interest him and you. I also tell 
him a few words of what I have heard respecting the affairs of 
Greece, upon which I have seen nothing to alter my opinion. 
I came directly from Havre to Lagrange, and have been very 
friendly received by the people on the road, and here, on my 
arrival. Ministerial and court people have either kept aloof, or 
acted foolishly to their own damage. I have been only four 
days in Paris, to sec several friends, and do not intend returning 
to town before the first days of January. The mass of the na- 
tion is quiet and industrious, though dissatisfied with the measures 
of the Government, and the incroachments of nobles and priests. 
I found Mr. Brown much better than I expected, indeed, almost 
quite well. Mr. Sheldon is better, also, and has wisely, I think, 
determined to nurse his health in Paris, rather than go to ennuyer 
himself in the South, while his time here is usefully employed. 
Mr. Somerville has been very sick ; I hope he will be soon on 
his travels. Present my affectionate respects to Mrs. Clay and 
family. Receive those of my children and Lc Valleur. 



THEODORE WYTHE CLAY* TO HIS FATHER. 

! ' kixgton, November 11, 1S25. 

My dear Father, — I received yours with great concern for 
the deep distress in which our great loss [death of Eliza and 
Mrs. Duralde] must have thrown both yourself and my mother. 
T have not the power of deriving any consolation to myself, 
and have not, therefore, the means of offering you any. I 
would gladly render you happy by any sacrifice in my power. 

Tb lodore Wythe Clay, the oldest son, has now (1835) boon in the Lunatic 
Asylum, at Lexington, over tw< ity years. 



OF HENKY CLAY. 181 

As I advance in years I feel the value of a relation more and 
more, because they must and should be the best friends. I 
hope, however, that you may not suffer your spirits to be too 
much depressed, for it is an inevil ible effect that the health is 
thereby impaired; and that of yourself and my dear mother, by 
thi :se repeated shocks, is more and more necessary to our hap- 
piness. 



ALBERT GALLATIN TO MIL CLAY. 

Baltimore, November 1-1, 1S'J.">. 

Dear Sir, — No one can be more sensible than I am, both of 
the importance of laying the foundation of a permanent friend- 
ship between the United States and our sister Republics, and of 
the distinguished honor conferred on the persons selected to be 
the representatives of our glorious and happy country at the first 
Congress of the Independent Powers of this hemisphere ; but, 
without affecting any false modesty, I can not perceive that I am 
peculiarly fitted for that mission, either by knowledge of the 
language, things, or men, of South America, or by being known 
to them. My personal objection has already been stated. I 
had none, whatever, to a sea voyage, or to embarking from an 
Atlantic port. On the receipt of your friendly letter of the 11th, 
I had further private inquiries made from one thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the country, as if the object had been a commer- 
cial establishment, and without my name being mentioned. 
The result of these, and the decided opposition I would have to 
encounter in my family, compel me, though with great reluc- 
tance, to persist in declining the appointment. I will preserve a 
grateful sense of your's and the President's favorable disposition 
in my favor ; and I beg you to accept my thanks for your friendly 
conduct toward me on this occasion. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

LAGRANofe, Novemli 25. 

My dear Friend, — This letter will find you in the full occu- 
pation of Congressional business, and although your duties . 
Speaker are over, there will be enough for die Secretary of State 
to do. I am ever anxiously waiting for news from tl"' United 



132 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

States, and particularly from Washington. My American habits 
have been so happily renewed in the blessed thirteen months I 
have passed on your side of the Atlantic, that I can not easily 
submit to an interruption in these communications. Let me 
hear from you as often as you can. 

You have but too melancholy motives to sympathize 
the cruel anxiety I have had lately to experience ; one of my 
granddaughters, the third daughter of George, has been on the 
eve of death. She is now out of danger. How often and how 
feelingly I have thought of you and Mrs. Clay you will easily 
conceive. I was gone to town, and expected to see Mr. Brown 
the next morning when a courier, announcing the dear girl's 
situation, recalled me suddenly to Lagrange. I suppose he has 
more than me to write about European politics. Indeed the 
politics of the Republican hemisphere, until this is greatly 
mended, appear to me the principal business of mankind. 

I much wish to know what answer you have had to your 
South American and Mexican communications respecting the 
Congress of Panama, and who has been sent as minister from 
the United States to that momentous meeting where his good 
and honest advice will, no doubt, prove highly useful. They 
say the Empire of Brazil has been invited also to send a minister 
to Panama. I wish it might be to give Don Pedro a passport 
to Europe ; for I apprehend this Brazilian spot will be a focus 
of European intrigues until it has adopted the Republican form 
of Government. 

"While British publications speak of their half recognition of 
American independence, as if no such feat of liberalism had ever 
existed elsewhere, the French Government are wavering be- 
tween a sense of public discontent at their backwardness and 
their ridiculous notions of legitimacy ; and when lately they 
thought of grasping at something like a mezzo tcrminc on the 
part of Spain, they have been momentarily discomfited by a 
change in the Spanish ministry. Such is the diplomacy of Eu- 
rope, and the fitness to have an American era of foreign as well 
as interior policy. However, an invisible current must soon 
wash away those difficulties. 

Notwithstanding the quarreling spirit of the Grecian chiefs, 
and abuses attending a long interruption of national Govern- 
ment, there is an admirable heroism in the resistance of that peo- 
ple and a moral obligation to every liberal man, or body of men, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 1°,.°, 

to give them encouragement and the assistance which special 
situations can allow. The British Government is, as usual, un- 
der a conflict of interests opposed to each other, and wants to 
obtain, as cheap as possible, the first place in the poor career of 
European liberalism. While French committees are sincere and 
eager in their concern for the cause of Greece, the Tuileries 
holds a connection, most unpopular in France, with the Egyp- 
tian despot. The rumor of very peculiar acts of benevolence 
from the American squadron and Commodore Rogers in behalf 
of the Greeks, which has produced no party complaint that I 
know of, has in the enlightened and liberal part of the world 
added to the popularity and dignity of the American name. 
What has really passed I do not know, but very much lament the 
illness of Mr. Somerville which possibly keeps him in Paris. I 
have pressed him to come to Lagrange to refit himself, and from 
there pursue his journey ; but when he will be able to support 
this short ride to our country residence I can not yet say. He 
is, however, a little better, as he himself writes to me, and you 
will no doubt get from him a later and more positive account. 
Present my affectionate respects to Mrs. Clay, to the President, to 
your colleagues, and all other friends in Washington as well as to 
their families. George and Le Valleur beg to be respectfully re- 
membered. Be so kind as to forward the inclosed letters ; and 
remember me to your own family, present and absent, and be- 
lieve me forever your sincere friend. 

I have received, before I left the United States, communica- 
tions from my old comrades of the Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts lines, intimating the purpose to present Congress, during 
this session, with a petition relative to the manner in which old 
accounts have been settled in their very interesting claims on 
their country's bounty, and also respecting the interpretation 
given in 1820, to the pension law of 179S. At all times I would 
have taken the most lively interest in their behalf, but now 
loaded as I am with the munificent bounty of Congress, I am 
more than ever anxious to hear they have had cause to be satis- 
fied. There are few survivors ; any thing done for them would, 
I hope, be gratifying to the people, and you know it would have 
an excellent effect abroad. 

Mr. Connel returns to England by way of Liverpool, lie 
will talk with you of several claims upon Europe, namely, that 
of Antwerp which he had been commissioned to pursue. 1 have 



134 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

seen M. and Mme. De la Rue. They know you are of opinion 
that Congress might with all propriety, and without hurting any 
person, instead of taking it for granted that the President is en- 
listed to introduce this French claim in the negotiation, express 
a positive vote upon it, and indeed I don't see any objection to 
express what every one considers as being already understood. 

Here is a bundle of letters which, with proper confidence in 
your goodness, I beg you to forward. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE.* 

Washington, November 30, 1825. 

If Virginia is to designate a Senator upon the principle of 
opposition to the administration, let that Senator be Mr. B. Giles. 
He would be a real friend, though a nominal enemy. I mean 
that his indiscretions, always great, and now greater than ever, 
would benefit more than his hostility would injure. But I 
should hope that no such principle would govern the choice. I 
should be delighted to see Governor Pleasants hero, or General 
Tucker, or ~Sh. C. Johnson. Of the latter I know personally 
but little ; but the accounts I have always had of him are highly 
favorable. It is of no great consequence, in respect to the suc- 
cess or movement of the Administration, who may be sent. The 
judgment which the public will form of it, depends upon its 
measures. And one Senator out of forty-eight can not, in that 
view of the matter, be very essential. You will hear with 
pleasure, that our harmony, in the cabinet, continues without 
the slightest interruption, and that we have daily testimonies 
of increased strength and confidence. 

The President has acceded to the wishes of several of the 
new American Republics, that the United States should be rep- 
resented at Panama. Our friends need have no fears of our 
contracting there unnecessary or onerous engagements, or men- 
acing the peace or neutrality of the country. 

There is ;i treaty now going on in this city with the Creeks, 
with prospects of a successful issue. 

* We observe that Judj Brooke generally signs his name Francis Brooke 
— sometimes Francis T. B ioke. Mr. Clay :ibo writes it both ways. Having 
begun as Fi Brooke, wo shall continue it. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 135 

/ 

LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, D mber 10, 182[ 

Although no direct information from you, my dear friend, has 
confirmed the fatal report communicated to mc for the first time 
by Mr. Brown and your sister, I but too well know I have a 
to sympathize with you in a most heavy calamity. I h. 
to mourn for myself. It was impossible to have formed an ac- 
quaintance with the most valuable daughter you have lately lost, 
to have been favored with her friendly welcome and affectionate 
attentions, without feeling a deep and lively personal regret. I 
condole most tenderly and mournfully with you, my dear friend, 
with Mrs. Clay, and the whole family so cruelly visited of late, 
and want words to express what I feel on the lamentable occasion. 

A similar kind of misfortune has been very near attending me. 
My granddaughter, Clementine, the youngest daughter of George, 
has passed several days in a hopeless state ; she is now recover- 
ing. I was then thinking of a former, although a late loss. Far 
was I from suspecting what new blow had fallen upon you. 

I have no heart to talk with you of other matters. The 
President will receive a letter from mc. My son and Le Valleur 
share in my sad feelings, and beg to be remembered most affec- 
tionately. 

I have written to the President that Mr. Somerville expected 
to proceed slowly toward his destination. Mr. Brown, whom I 
have just now seen, gives me a much more sad account than what 
I had received from poor Somerville himself. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagrange, January 22, 1826. 
My dear Sir, — No letter from you, since your last most la- 
mentable loss, and you can not write to a more sympathizing 
friend, has yet reached me ; but I have heard of you and 
Clay by your sister and Mr. Brown. We have been here on the 
edge of a similar affliction, and I am sure you will feel with mo 
at the not-expected recovery of my granddaughter. Po< 
erville, after a long and painful lingering, has breathed his last 
at Auxerre, on his way to Italy; he hoped, while the physicians 
had no hope of him. Mr. Brown will inform you of the meas- 



136 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ures taken to secure his papers. He has expressed the affec- 
tionate wish to be buried at Lagrange, which was received with 
our best gratitude and respect, and, after consulting the public 
officers of the United States in Paris, executed in the propercst 
manner we could, ignorant as we were of Somervilkrs religious 
persuasion. It was thought the parish cemetery, where two of 
my grandchildren are interred, was the proper spot, and I am 
taking measures, by an exchange, to annex it to the grounds of 
the farm. You easily will guess what title I would like to mention 
in the inscription. But it cannot properly be done until you find 
no inconvenience in it. I have everyday lamented an unavoid- 
able delay. Every circumstance confirms me in that opinion. 

Although the interior politics of Russia have been kept in the 
dark, two points seem to be ascertained : that Nicholas is the 
definitive Emperor, and that a plan to obtain constitutional guar- 
anties had a great share in the late commotion at Petersburg. 
The Holy Alliance has received a blow. It is said another dis- 
appointment awaits them from the bad health of Emperor Fran- 
cis, whose son, more of a fool than his father, which amounts to 
complete idiotism, is pretended to hate Metternich, the great 
counter-revolutionary intriguer. I believe the bad situation of 
the Greeks has been exaggerated, even by well-meaning persons. 
There is in the revolutionary spirit of freedom an elasticity which 
is seldom well appreciated. On no European power they can 
confide. But posterity, and it will begin immediately after their 
success as it would begin immediately after their fall, can not 
fail to give full credit to every honest measure taken in their be- 
half. I am very anxious to hear the name, or names, of the mis- 
sion to Panama, and have with much pleasure heard of a Repub- 
lican success over the imperial troops of Brazil. I more and 
more am confirmed in my eagerness to see the monarch of Brazil 
removed from his American throne. 

Adieu, my dear friend. My best respects wait on Mrs. Clay 
and family. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 20, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — In answer to your friendly inquiries, contained 
in your letter of 18th instant, respecting my health. I have the 
satisfaction to say it is improving. From the commencement 



OF HENRY CLAY. 137 

until about four weeks ago it was very good. I was then at- 
tacked with influenza, which, after one recovery, has been re- 
newed, and I have been a good deal reduced, especially in the 
relapse. I think I have no organic defect in my structure, and I 
therefore indulge the hope of a speedy return to health. 

As to the Panama mission, it has encountered much delay and 
a good deal of opposition in the Senate, owing principally to the 
actual composition of that body at present. There are some 
fifteen or sixteen Senators determined to oppose the administra- 
tion at all events, and that measure especially. There are eight 
or ten others whose private feelings are inimical, but who are 
restrained by the state of things at their respective homes. When 
these eight or ten unite (and they are disposed to lend to the 
regulars of opposition all the collateral countenance they can, 
without committing themselves), with the others, together they 
form a majority. The delay which has occurred in the Panama 
affair has been produced by a majority thus compounded ; and 
the expedients to which it has resorted, to procrastinate the de- 
cision, will surprise the country, if it is ever allowed to know 
them. Nevertheless, it is confidently believed that a majority 
of the Senate will finally oppose the mission. It is understood 
they are to act on it to-day, and they may probably get through 
it this week, though that is by no means certain. In the House, 
and with the country, the administration need not desire to be 
stronger than it is. As to the peculiar condition, at this time, 
of the Senate, you can well imagine the cause. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

]'u:rs, February 28, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — Your letter of the 13th December is the las< 
I have received from you. I know your avocations, but when 
ever you have time to drop a few lines, they will be received 
with the grateful feelings of patriotic interest and personal friend- 
ship. 

My hopes of Greece have not been disappointed. They still 
fight, and often conquer, abandoned as they have been by all, 
and attacked or betrayed by many of the Christian powers. It 
seems now that England regrets not to have been more generous 



138 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

before an unforeseen and extensive conspiracy in Russia may 
make it a matter of necessity for Emperor Nicholas to wage war 
against the Turks. The Western powers would like to pi 
up some arrangement favorable to the independence of Greece, 
that they may not be dependent on the Russian empire. I wrote 
to you some private exertions were taking place, from only one 
part of the French Greek Committee, in favor of Duke d'Orleans' 
second son. Now the Duke himself does not deny it, but 1 
doubt his obtaining a sincere support from the Court of the 
Tuileries. Under those circumstances I did more lament the 
misfortune that has deprived poor Somerville of the pursuit 
of his mission, and I wish a respectable American squadron may 
appear again in those seas. My notions of the moral influence 
of the people of the United States are lofty and extensive, I con- 
fess ; but at least I would sadly regret if it were not fully exer- 
cised at the Congress of Panama, and in every concern of South 
America, it would be, in my opinion, leaving the field to the 
intrigues of European monarchy and aristocracy. Nor can I be 
easy until the throne of Brazil is no more. 

Present my affectionate respects to Mrs. Clay and family, to 
the President and family, to your colleagues in the cabinet, to 
all friends. Receive those of my son and Le Valleur, and be- 
lieve me forever your affectionate sympathizing friend. 

Will you please to forward the inclosed to our young Tennes- 
seean friends. 



LORD BEXLEY TO MR. CLAY. 

Great Geouge Street, London, March 9, 1820. 

Sir, — Having some time ago been informed, by Bishop Chase, 
that you would permit small parcels of the periodical publica- 
tions of some of our religious and charitable societies, for his 
use, to be occasionally addressed to you, I have taken the liberty, 
by the favor of Mr. King, to consign two small packages, con- 
taining a few Mohawk Prayer Books and some Reports, to your 
address for the Bishop. 

I can not forbear taking this opportunity of ez ing my 

sincere pleasure that a sti a n in your eminent situation should 

be the friend of that excellent man ; and I can not conceh 
purer or stronger bond of union between our countries than that 



OF HENBT CLAY. 139 

which is afforded by the co-operation now so happily establi 
between them in religious and benevolent pursuits. I am sure 
you will find the patronage you afforded thi m not only an honor 
to your Government, but a source of sincere and increasing s 
faction to yourself amid the cares. and labors of an official life : 
and which you will hereafter reflect upon as not among the least 
important of the services which your talents and character have 
enabled you to render to your country. I have the honor to be, 
Sir, with every sentiment of consideration, yours, etc. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, March 27, 1820. 

My dear Sir, — As I am writing to you by the packet I shall 
only in these lines introduce to your acquaintance General Nar- 
vaez, a member of the Colombian Senate and of Bolivar's mili- 
tary family, who after having brought over the treaty with Great 
Britain, and paid a visit to Paris, is returning home through the 
United States. There he will witness the superiority of Re- 
publican Institutions over the half civilization, at best, of the 
European countries. May he also, and his fellow inhabitants of 
the south be convinced that from American diplomacy alone they 
can expect honest advice and sincere sympathies. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 10, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your kind letter of the 12th 
instant. Prior to my going out on the affair to which it refers, 
the only letter I wrote about it was addressed to you, and put 
into the hands of General Harrison, to be forwarded on a con- 
tingency which did not happen. In that letter, which he still 
retains, I briefly assigned the reasons which determined me on 
the course I took. The circumstances which most embarrassed 
me was the opinion which is entertained by some, as to the 
of Mr. Randolph's mind. But I thought I ought not to be 
erned by that opinion which was opposed by the recent act of 
my native State electing him to the Senate. As for the future, 



140 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

it must be left to itself. Most certainly I should reluctantly en- 
gage in any similar affair. 

Will you not come and see us this session ? I should be glad 
if you would come up and pass some days at my house. On 
Wednesday next I expect some company to dine with me, as I 
generally do on that day of every week. Suppose you be of the 
party, and take your lodgings with me ? My family is very 
small, and we have several spare bed-rooms. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY 

Paris, March 29, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — We are anxiously waiting for the arrival of two 
New York packets. I hope they will bring me some lines from 
you. At all events I will know what is going on at Washing- 
ton and other parts of the United States, a food to my mind, a 
consolation of my heart, which has become more than ever 
necessary to me. I am happy to think the Panama mission is 
now on its way. I believe »it of high moment for the welfare 
of South America and Mexico, for the prospects of mankind, and 
for the dignity of the people of the United States, that they 
preserve and exert the moral influence to which they are so 
justly entitled. 

This letter accompanies an offer presented to you of the col- 
lection of General Foy's speeches, which have the additional 
merit of being a compliment of the national subscription in be- 
half of his children. The conduct of the people in that circum- 
stance has been marked with feeling and propriety. The editors 
are men of remarkable talents. 

The European newspapers, your correspondence with the 
American ministers, leave me but little to say on political topics. 
I am by this same opportunity writing to the President, and 
think it needless to repeat my observations. Present my best 
respects to Mrs. Clay and family, remember me to our friends, 
and receive the sincere wishes, in which my companions heartily 
join, of your affectionate friend.* 

* It should have been mentioned before, that nil Lafayette's letters to Mr. Clay 
are in English, which -will account for the modes of expression found in them. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 141 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, April 28, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — I have not by the last packet heard from 
you, or the President, or any of the public men at Washington, 
which I readily explain on account of your pressing avocations 
in these Congressional times. Mr. Brown writes, no doubt, to 
you. Mr. Dodge, consul at Marseilles, contemplates going from 
New York to the scat of Government, which is a very good 
channel of late information. I shall therefore confine myself to 
expressing my satisfaction at the result of a debate which has 
given me much anxiety, as you know nobody sets a greater 
value than I do on the moral influence of the United States, for 
their own sakes, for the sake of the new American Republics, 
for the sake of mankind, the general cause of which, the Gov- 
ernment model, whenever they allow themselves to act, is called 
to further. I wish the commissioners may not have been too 
long detained. 

My anticipations relative to the heroic resistance of the Greeks, 
have not been disappointed, but unless European policy, I mean 
that of their Governments, finds a selfish interest in rescuing 
them from the efforts of the barbarians, nothing is to be expected 
from the feelings of the Holy Alliance, Great Britain included. 
In the meanwhile, we have the joyful account of a complete 
repulse of Ibrahim Pasha, from the shattered walls of Misso- 
longhi. 

Present my most affectionate respects to Mrs. Clay, to the 
President, and both families, to your colleagues, to all friends at 
Washington. I have had a visit of the gout, which had very 
properly refrained from interrupting my enjoyments on the 
sacred beloved ground of the United States, but am now much 
better. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagrange, May 28, 1826. 

My dear Sir. — My affection and regard for you are sure, and, 

I hope, anticipated pledges of the interest I take in every thing 

where you are concerned, and it were superfluous to expand on 

my feelings, which, I know, are not to you a matter of doubt. 



142 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Your official correspondent and good brother gives you regular 
accounts of political matters on this side of the Atlantic. I have 
already communicated my private observations on the strange and 
portentful contrast that exists between the liberal sentiments, the 
improving good sense of the people on this continent, more par- 
ticularly in France, and the bold, but, I expect, imprudent en- 
croachments of power and priesthood on the actual state of 
civilization. This anomaly is very striking in the dispositions 
relative to Greece. It appears that Great Britain and their con- 
tinental partners have succeeded in tampering with the co-relig- 
ionary movement of the Russians. The British commander of 
the Ionian Islands has boldly invited the heroic population of 
Missolonghi to surrender to the Turks, which amounts to the 
massacre of every man, the rape of every woman, and the con- 
version to Mohammedanism, if not the death, of every child, pris- 
oners of war in their hands, while a scanty supply to the starv- 
ing garrison, or at least the starving women and children, was so 
very easy a matter. On the other hand, renegade officers, pro- 
tected by tbe French Government, have assisted in reducing that 
unfortunate population who have resolved to blow up, along with 
their enemies, such part of themselves as could not fight, and 
devote the other to destruction, among the havoc they made in 
the barbarian ranks of the Austrians. I shall only say that nothing 
can exceed or equal the infamy of their conduct. In the mean- 
while, the popular feeling in favor of the Grecian cause has never 
been so warm and so general. Their adversaries are branded 
with the most poignant reproaches. Collections are going on, 
supplies are sent. The people of France, the ladies of Paris, 
and successively of every town, are acting a conspicuous and use- 
ful part in their behalf. I see in an English paper tbat some 
stipulations have been made at Petersburg in favor of Greece. 
But although public opinion is much excited, I question even this 
dilatory interference. I need not tell you, my dear friend, that I 
bave been anxiously waiting for the arrival of the two private 
New York frigates, and persisting in the opinion tbat the pres- 
ence of an American squadron on those seas would afford honor- 
able opportunities, consisting with the rules of neutrality, to 
render essential services. And, indeed, such I have found the 
popular feeling m the United States. Such is now the general 
feeling in i ', . that every service rendered to those people 

would be looked upon with very favorable constructions. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 143 

I sec in the papers that a Penitentiary is to be erected in the 
District of Columbia, under the control of the President ; and I 
I ember with pleasure the conformity of our ideas respecting 
the deviations from the late system of reformation, and namely 
the prevalence of solitary confinement that was contemplated at 
Philadelphia. Not that I object to solitary cells, not only ; 
transitory punishment, but also as a great improvement to separ- 
ate the prisoners at night, a time when they spoil each other. I 
only think that in day-time they ought to be together in a cer- 
tain number, which is susceptible of very useful modifications. I 
intrude upon this matter because I believe this is a good oppor- 
tunity for the United States to give one more example, among so 
many, to the rest of mankind. 

Permit me to put under your cover a letter to Mr. Skinner, 
inclosing one to Mr. Cormick and the Report of the Agricultural 
Society of Paris, with their very advantageous opinion about a 
new plow which I had been desired to present to their exami- 
nation. Here is also a letter to my Memphis friends. 

Present my best respects to Mrs. Clay and family, to the Presi- 
dent and family, to your colleagues and other friends in Wash- 
ington. I have been long suffering from the gout, and depend 
on the country air and country occupations to make me quite 
well. Part of my family are still in town, namely my daughter- 
in-law, who is one of the female collectors for the Greeks. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO Ant. CLAY. 

Boston-, June 8, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — We are glad to learn, through the papers, that 
you have been able to leave the city for a little visit into Mary- 
land, as it gives us reason to hope that you have recovered from 
your recent indisposition. % 

You will have noticed 3Ir. Lloyd Ignation. I did nol 

pect it at this moment, although I was apprised of his wish to 
leave the Senate as soon as he could. It was with difficulty he 
was persuaded to attend the last session. The Legislature being 
now in session, his place will be immediately filled. I incline 
to think that the appointment will fall on Mr. Silsby. It has 
been intimated to me, indeed, that a different arrangement might, 



144 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

perhaps, be made, if I should approve it ; but my impression at 
present is against it, and I believe for very good reasons. 

Mr. Silsby you know. He is entirely well disposed, and is a 
well-informed merchant and a respectable man. It is not likely 
he would take much part in the discussions of the Senate ; but 
would bring a good deal of useful knowledge into the body, and 
might be entirely relied on to support all just and proper meas- 
ures. According to general usage here, a senator would now be 
appointed for six years, commencing next March, at the end of 
Mr. Mills' present term of office ; but I think it probable enough, 
that having to fill the vacancy, occasioned by the resignation of 
Mr. Lloyd, now, the Legislature may choose to postpone the 
other election to the winter. If the choice should come on now, 
, I understand Mr. Mills will be re-elected. If postponed, it may 
be a little uncertain, it is said, as some suppose our Governor has 
an inclination for the place. There are here, in the Legislature 
and out, a few very busy persons, who are hostile to the admin- 
istration. They have no system, but act, in every case, pro re 
nata, and content themselves with the general principle, applied 
in all cases, and indiscriminately, of opposing. They will prob- 
ably support Mr. Lincoln against Mr. Mills, from an idea that Mr. 
Mills' appointment would gratify the friends of the President, or 
is a thing arranged by his friends, although Mr. Lincoln is known 
to be equally friendly. Some embarrassment may happen from 
this source, very possibly ; but I trust it can be overcome. 

I have great pleasure in assuring you that nothing can be 
more correct or more decisive than public opinion in this part 
of the country, in regard to the various transactions of the last 

session. 

The sentiment of the people is exactly what you would ex- 
pect and wish it to be. 

In New Hampshire the Legislature meets next week. The 
two senators will doubtless be present on that occasion, and we 
are looking with some interest to see whether Mr. YToodbury 
and the editor of the " Patriot" (publisher of the laws !) will be 
able to bring the Legislature and people of that State to their 
way of thinking. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 145 



GENERAL JESUP TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, April 1, 18'26. 
Sir, — Agreeably to your request, I called this morning on Mr. 
Randolph, for the purpose of delivering your note. Previous to 
presenting it, however, I thought it proper to ascertain from him 
whether the information you had received, that he considered 
himself personally accountable for any attack upon you, was cor- 
rect. I accordingly informed him that I was the bearer of a 
message from you, in consequence of an attack which, you had 
been informed, he had made on your private as well as public 
character, in the Senate ; that I was aware of the fact that he 
could not be made accountable elsewhere for any thing said in 
debate, unless he chose himself to waive his privilege as a mem- 
ber of that body. Mr. Randolph replied, that the Constitution 
did protect him, but he would never shield himself under such 
a subterfuge as the pleading of his privilege as a Senator from 
Virginia ; that he did hold himself accountable " to Mr. Clay," 
but considered that he (Mr. Clay) had first two pledges to re- 
deem. One that he was bound to fight any member of the 
House of Representatives who had acknowledged himself the 
author of a certain publication in a Philadelphia paper ; the 
other, that he stood pledged to establish certain facts in regard 
to " a great man," whom he would not name. He added, how- 
ever, that he would receive no message from Mr. Clay which 
was not in writing. I replied that the only message I had was 
in writing : that I had not been authorized by you to enter into 
or receive any verbal explanations, but that I had done so on my 
own responsibility, because I thought it proper to do so. I then 
presented him the note. He read it, and informed me that he 
would send, by a friend, a written answer to it, or he would send 
the answer by me, if I would take it. I observed that it would 
be better to send it by a friend, to which he assented. 



GENERAL JESUP TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, June -24, 182 
Dear Sir, — I inclose a copy of the paper which I read to you 
to-day ; it was drawn up with a view of being presented to you, 

10 



146 PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

within half an hour after your note had heen presented to Mr. 
Randolph. It contains the substance of my interview with that 
gentleman. 



GENERAL JESUP TO JAMES B. CLAY.* 

Washington, January 19, 1853. 

My dear Sir, — I have received your letter of the 4th instant. 
You owe me no apology for writing to me on any subject ; 
certainly not when the matter relates to your late father. 

I have never seen Garland's book, but the statement which 
you understood him to have made, that Mr. Randolph, in the 
duel witli your father, did not fire at him, is entirely incorrect. 
In that affair, when the parties came upon the ground, Colonel 
Tatnal, the friend of Mr. Randolph, having won the choice of 
positions, placed his principal in that which he preferred, and I 
placed your father opposite to him, distant ten paces. The other 
party, having the choice of positions, gave me the word. 
Randolph desired to know how I would give it when the parties 
should he ready. I repeated it. He desired to hear it again. 
While I was repeating it the second time, his pistol was dis- 
charged, whether by accident or not I was then in doubt, but I 
was soon satisfied that the discharge was accidental. Your fa- 
ther called to me — " It was an accident — I saw it." The par- 
ties resumed their stations, and exchanged shots, Mr. Randolph's 
ball striking a small stump in the rear of, and nearly in line with 
your father, and his ball cutting Mr. Randolph's pantaloons near 
the knee, and passing through his coat. The parties again took 
their stations, and the word was given by Colonel Tatnal — - 
your father fired at Randolph, his bullet passing again through 
Mr. Randolph's clothes ; the latter raised his pistol and fired in 
the air, exclaiming at the moment, " Mr. Clay, I came upon this 
ground determined not to fire at you, but the unfortunate dis- 
charge of my pistol, after I had taken my position" (and I think 
he added, " with the circumstances attending it"), " for a mo- 
ment changed my mind."* They sprang forward as if by a 
common impulse, and -rasped each other by the hand, each ex- 
pressing the pleasure he felt that the other was unhurt. 

A statement, prepared at the time and signed by the friends 
of the parties, was published, giving an account of the whole 

* It is thought proper to put this letter in this plaee, though of a later date. 



OF HEXRY CLAY. 147 

matter. I have duplicates of all the correspondence, carefully- 
packed among my private papers. I will open them, and have 
them copied for you, as soon as I shall find time to examine 
them. The other set of the papers, I have understood, vi 
placed by Colonel Tatnal in the hands of Mr. Randolph's hi 
brother, the late Judge Henry St. George Tucker, of Virginia, 
and was soon after destroyed by fire when his house was burned. 
I will examine Garland's book, and take such public notice 
of the part to which you refer as truth and justice may seem 
to require. With respect and regard, I am, etc. 



SIR. CLAY TO J. 3. JOHNSTON. 

Lexington, August 2, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — My visit home has been altogether highly 
gratifying. Far from any abatement, there is an increase in the 
number and ardor of my friends, who have given me the strong- 
est testimonies of their attachment. From Missouri I learn that 
Scott's prospect of re-election is promising. Cook's is unattend- 
ed with any doubt. Senator Reed writes me from Mississippi in 
great confidence of his re-election, upon the distinct ground of 
supporting the Administration. In Ohio and Indiana things could 
not look better. I think we may assume, first, that the Western 
States, whose delegation voted for Mr. Adams, will continue to 
support him ; and secondly, that Mississippi will probably be added 
to the number. You will have heard of Gurlcy's re-election, 
and rumor says that Brent has also succeeded. 

I shall set out on the 11th for Washington via Kanawha. I 
go that route to take advantage of the Virginia Springs, to im- 
prove my health, which just begins to feel the benefit of absence 
from my office. Mrs. Clay will probably go through Ohio to see 
James, and we shall meet at Washington, where we are very 
anxious again to join our friends. I may halt a few days at the 
White Sulphur Springs, and therefore shall not probably reach 
Washington till early in September. 

You will have seen the tragical end of Beauchauip and his 
unfortunate wife. We live in an age of romance. Ask Mrs. 
Johnston if the story might not he wrought up into a fine popu- 
lar tragedy, one similar to George Barnwell ? 



148 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Mrs. Clay joins me in the communication of cordial regards 

to Mrs. Johnston; and I add assurances of my sincere friendship 
to yourself, etc. 



MB. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

White Slxphur Springs, Va., August 24, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — I arrived without accident the day before 
yesterday, and after remaining about a week at it, for the use of 
the mineral waters, I propose resuming my journey about the 
1st of September, and hope to reach the city the 10th or 12th. 
My health has improved on the journey, although I have not 
been able to secure all the tranquillity and abstraction from 
crowds which is necessary to its re-establishment ; for they 
have invited me to a public dinner at Lewisburg, and not being 
able to assign any sufficient reason for declining it, I have ac- 
cepted it. The administration has many friends in this quarter 
of Virginia. 

There is much company at this place, but it shifts as fre- 
quently as the dramatis persona? of a theater. It is chiefly from 
the Southern States. 

I am driving a gig-horse, which, though not so fine or showy 
as your finest carriage-horse, I am inclined to think might an- 
swer as a tolerable match for him. 

With my best regards to Mrs. Johnston, and the hope of see- 
ing you both very soon, I am truly your friend. 

P. S. Mrs. Clay was to leave Lexington on the 22d inst., 
to proceed to the city, by the Ohio route, and I expect will 
reach you about the time that I shall. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

White Sulphur Springs, August 28, 1826. 
My dear Sir, — I was disappointed, on my arrival here, in not 
having the pleasure of meeting you ; but I received your obliging 
letter, accounting for your absence. I have made a short halt 
for the use of the waters, which I have already found of some 
benefit. I shall resume my journey on the 1st of next month, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 1 I 9 

and will, perhaps, reach Orange, by the way of Charlottesville, 
on the Sth or 9th. I purpose remaining a day or two there, 
with Governor Barbour, if at home, and Mr. Madison. I should 
be delighted to avail myself of your kind invitation, but that 
must depend upon information which I may hereafter receive, 
as to the necessity of my presence at my post. It will be very 
gratifying to me if I can render any service, which 1 will not 
fail to endeavor, to your friend, Mr. Carter. 



MR. ADAMS TO MB. CLAY. 

QrraCY, September 12, 1826. 

Dear Sir, — I duly received your kind letters of the 25th and 
30th of July, and of the 12th ultimo, all from Lexington, which 
I have hitherto deferred answering, from an uncertainty where 
a letter would meet you. But supposing you would, about this 
time, reach Washington, I, two days since, inclosed to you a 
letter from the Governor of New York, with other papers, on a 
subject requiring at once mature deliberation and prompt de- 
cision. 

I learn, with much concern, that your health did not derive, 
from your visit home, so much benefit as you had anticipated. 
I hope the tour to the Springs will have more favorable results. 
Your apprehensions with regard to Mr. Anderson were but too 
well founded. The public have lost in him an able and useful 
officer. The Panama Congress, it seems, have adjourned to 
meet in the neighborhood of the city of Mexico. 

Your letter of instructions to Mr. Gallatin has been forwarded 
by me to the Collector of the Customs at New York, to be forth- 
with transmitted. Mr. Poinsett's treaty with Mexico has all 
the articles stipulating the delivery of criminals and fugitive 
slaves, which Mr. Gallatin thinks may be objected to. We shall 
have an opportunity, by the reference of the Mexican Treaty to 
the Senate, of ascertaining their views in relation to these sub- 
jects, and, probably, in season to give further instructions to 
Mr. Gallatin, before the termination of his negotiation. 

I think that, unless some unforeseen emergency should indis- 
pensably require my return to Washington earlier, I shall be 
there between the 15th and 20th of next month, about ten days 
later than I have, until recently, expected. 



150 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

LORD GAMBIER TO MR. CLAY. 

Ivef. Grove, September 20, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — Mr. Edward Thomson, the son of an esteemed 
and intimate friend of mine, being about to proceed to the State 
of South Carolina, will pass a little time at Washington, on his 
way from New York. I beg your permission to introduce him 
to your countenance and protection. You will find him, should 
he have the honor of presenting himself to you, to be an intelli- 
gent, well-informed young man, of most respectable character, 
and worthy of your notice. Any friendly office that you may 
please to honor him with, will be very gratifying and obliging 
to me. 

I was happy to hear, from my nephew, Mr. Charles Gambier, 
who visited Washington the beginning of the present year, of 
your health and well-being. Most cordially do I wish you a 
continuance of the same, with the addition of every other bles- 
sing that may conduce to your present and everlasting happiness; 
being, my dear sir, with unfeigned esteem and regard, your faith- 
ful friend. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston-, October in, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — The subject of the recent British order is ex- 
citing some little attention, as you will have observed, in the 
commercial cities, and there are those, doubtless, who would em- 
brace this, as they would any opportunity, to find fault. 

Mr. Lloyd has probably written you in regard to it. He feels 
more than a common share cf interest on the occasion, as he 
recommended negotiation in preference to meeting the English 
proposition by an act of Congress. It may be well, perhaps, that 
some little statement, made at Washington, would appear, for 
the satisfaction of the public. I would not intimate that there 
is, in this part of the country at least, any dissatisfaction ; but I 
see attempts are making, in New York and other places, to pro- 
duce an impression that the national interests have, in this in- 
stance, been overlooked. 

As to the general course of political affairs, we have nothing 
of much interest in this quarter. Our elections take place next 



OF jik:;i:y CLAY. 151 

month. In some districts there may lie personal changes, but 
nobody will bo proposed on the ground of opposition, nor any 
body chosen who is suspected, on good grounds, of being inclined 
to join the opposition. Some few, perha] : ; . may be chosen, who 
profess friendship, and who will yet fly off on the first, ami on 
every <lose question, according to the example of last winter. 
But, o\\ the whole, the great majority from tin's quarter will be 
w.ll inclined, and steady in their course. The Jackson paper in 
this city (for we have also a Jackson paper), seems to occupy it- 
self at present very much with Mr. Everett. Mr. Everett, how- 
ever, is likely to be re-elected with great unanimity. I think, 
my dear sir, without intending a compliment, that your speech 
at Lewisburg has done real service. It was happy and excellent, 
even for you, both in matter and manner. We all rejoice here 
— I mean all who do not fear that you were born to prevent 
General J. from being President — in the improvement of your 
health : and you must allow me to express my most anxious and 
earnest hope that you will not overwork yourself the ensuing 
session and winter. What can not be done without the sacrifice 
of your health must be left undone, at whatever expense or 
hazard. I have often thought of suggesting to you one practice, 
if you have not already adopted it, which I have found very use- 
ful myself, when my own little affairs have occasionally pressed 
me ; that is, the constant employment of an amanuensis. The 
difference between writing at the table and dictating to another, 
is very great. The first is tedious, exhausting, debilitating labor ; 
the last may be done while you are pacing a large room, and en- 
joying in that way the benefit of an erect posture, and a healthy 
exercise. If I were you I would not touch a pen, except to write 
my frank. Make the clerks do all that clerks can do, and for 
the rest dictate to an amanuensis. I venture to say, that if you 
once get accustomed to this, you will find your labor gp 
lightened. 

I have had the pleasure of hearing from several Kentucky and 
Ohio friends during the summer ; and have had much g 

. in learning the favorable state of opinion in those important 
states. The only incident to be regretted much, in the West, is 
the loss of Cook's election. His frii nds must remember him, 
and sustain him, in some public service, according to his merits. 



152 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagrange, October 28, 1826. 

My dear Sir. — Mr. Brown who is in the city, Mr. Gallatin, 
whom I had the pleasure to see for two days, give you French 
and English news, with the reports from other parts of Europe. 
I have therefore very little to say, and what should I say but 
that the British and the Continental Cabinets are patching up 
every gap from which liberty and equality might pop out on this 
side of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, the public mind is making 
slow progress, and at the end of a chapter, too long I fear, things 
will definitely come to rights. 

I have given the President an account of my conversation, 
sought on their part with the last commissioners, from Hayti to 
this Government, the main point of which was to tell me that 
one of the American objections to the acknowledgment of their 
independence, might easily be removed, as they might even now 
assure you that the privileges complained of as a kind of vassal- 
age, were not, at any rate, to last more than the time fixed for 
the payment of the stipulated money. 

Permit me to inclose a letter to the President, containing the 
application of a lady, a packet for Mr. Graham, relating to my 
landed concerns, and one to my dear friends Fanny and Camilla 
Wright, the elder of whom had but lately recovered from a very 
alarming fever. I would much like to have your opinion of 
their philanthropic experiment. 

I beg you to present my best respects to Mrs. Clay and family, 
to remember me to our friends, particularly Governor Barbour, 
to whom I will have the pleasure to write by the next packet. 
Here is the copy of a letter I have received from General Bolivar. 
It has been published in France, as well as my letter from 
Washington, at the request of M. Madrid, the Colombian agent 
to this Government. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, l'> oember 11, 182C. 
My dear Sir, — I have occasion for all possible indulgence 
from my friends, on account of my irregularity in acknowledging 
and answering their esteemed favors. They will do me great 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 153 

wrong, if, in any case, they attribute my silence to insensibility 
to the value of their letters. I perceive from yours of the 7th 
inst., that you feel that I had neglected answering some of your 
prior letters. *I must plead guilty, and ask for mercy. I am glad 
to learn that the message takes well at Richmond, or rather, that 
it is only objected to because it is without fault. Political pros- 
pects are good every where, to the North, East and West, and I 
think less gloomy in the South. In Kentucky, an Adams rep- 
resentative has been sent from one of the two Jackson districts, 
vacated by the death of their members, and my confidence in 
the support of that State to the administration, and in the re- 
election of Mr. Adams is entire. In Pennsylvania, the Governor 
comes out in his message in support of the administration, and 
sanctioning the late election of President. In New York, the 
great body of both parties is with us, and I verily believe that if 
the electoral law should even remain unaltered, Mr. Adams will 
obtain every vote. 

I invite your attention to the documents (of which I will for- 
ward a copy by the mail), concerning the colonial question. I 
think we have put Great Britain unquestionably in the wrong. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington-, December 23, 1826. 

My dear Sir, — I have yielded to the wish that I should write 
in behalf of Mr. Taylor, but a great deal too much weight is 
attributed to my recommendation, and I fear that the bank will 
hardly be prevailed on to deviate from their practice of sending 
out a cashier educated under their own eye. 

From all recent indications at Richmond, we are to conclude 
that Mr. Ritchie has succeeded in putting a majority of the Gen- 
eral Assembly in the honor of a permanent opposition to the 
general administration. I regret it extremely, not more on our 
account here, than on that of Virginia herself. It is consoling 
that every where else, things are going well, and the final issue 
is perfectly certain. Mr. McKinley, the new Senator lately 
elected in Alabama, is believed to have brought with him good 
dispositions toward the Administration. In that branch of Con- 
gress where it was weakest, it is now entirely safe. 



154 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lackance. December 29, 1S26. 

My dear Sir, — After having passed a very pleasing summer 
in this rural abode, we have been lately afflicted with a sad 
calamity, the death of Louis Lasteyrie (husband to my daughter 
Virginia, and father to four children), whom we have lost after 
a cruel illness of two months. You are but too well acquainted 
with the feelings of family mournings, and will sympathize 
in our regrets. The so very strange murder of Doctor Brown 
has given me much pain, not only from motives of friendship 
to his brother and other relations, but on account of my personal 
acquaintance with him and his amiable family. 

You are now in the midst of Congressional debates. I much 
wish they may relax of the unusual bitterness that has marked 
the last session. The choice of Mr. Poinsett to the Congress 
of Panama has afforded me great pleasure, as he well knows the 
concerns of South America and Mexico, including those of Gua- 
timala, and will be a good adviser of the Republican measures, 
as well as a guardian against European influence. How do you 
find Mr. Canning's assertion in the British Parliament that he, 
Mr. Canning, has called to existence the new Republics of the 
American hemisphere? when it is known by what example, 
what declaration, and what feelings of jealousy the British Gov- 
ernment has been dragged into a slow, gradual, and conditional 
recognition of that independence. 

Gallant Greece is still struggling against the Ottomans and 
Egyptians; whatever has been the revolutionary tone of the 
British prime-minister, and in spite of the counter-revolutionary 
ultraism in France and Spain, it is well understood between all 
Governments in Europe, that a general commotion might carry 
them on a ground not very favorable to the interests of aristoc- 
racy and despotism; so that as long as they can keep the nations 
within the bounds of ancient institutions, or at best, of old and 
new octroyed charters, they will ever ultimately find means to 
patch up every political question that may annoy Euro] 
slumbers. 

Among the several publications relative to Lagrange and its 
inhabitants, which I have found in the papers of the United 
States, there is one that I am prompted to notice, as you will 
have, at Washington, frequent opportunities to contradict it. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 155 

The writer, with a kind intention, I don't doubt, but under a 
complete mistake, asserts that I am assailed by Americans in 
Europe, with demands for money. Happy I would be, to be 
sure, of an opportunity to oblige friends in distress. But those 
opportunities have not boon offered. 

Be pleased, my dear friend, to present me very affectionately 
to Mrs. Clay, your family, the President, Mrs. Adams and family, 
your colleagues in the cabinet, General Brown, Commodore Mor- 
ris, General Bernard, Mr Graham, and all other friends at Wi 
ington. Be pleased also to take care of the inclosed letter, and 
believe me forever your affectionate friend. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY.* 
On Board the Steamboat, near York Town, October 18, 1824. 
My dear Friend, — Your kind congratulations and affectionate 
letter are new testimonies of those sentiments which I am proud 
and happy to have obtained from you, and which are most cor- 
dially reciprocated. I am now on my way to the anniversary 
meeting at York Town, and shall from there proceed to Norfolk, 
Richmond, Monticello, Montpelier, and again to Washington, 
wiiere I intend to await the meeting of Congress. It is my fond 
determination to visit the Southern and Western States, and I 
anticipate the pleasure to find myself under your friendly roof at 
Ashland. But it can not now be before I have met you at Wash- 
ington, where every motive of propriety, respect, and gratitude 
demand my early visit to the members of both Houses, wh 
unanimous invitation has called me to' the most honorable and 
gratifying enjoyments in which the human heart can delight. L 
am happy to think that the time is not far removed when I shall 
have the pleasure to present you in person the expression of my 
high regard and most sincere affection. My son desires his sin- 
cere acknowledgments and respects to you. 

* This letter, from Lafayette, -wa3 mislaid, and is out of its proper place as to 
date. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1827. 

DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

January 1, 1827. 
My dear Sir, — After company went out last night, and I had 
packed up my trunk, I sat down and read your letter through. 
Probably, I should have voted against any further publication ; 
but I am now fully satisfied this will do good. The statement 
is clear, and the evidence irresistible. I am satisfied, upon my 
conscience, that the whole business originated with General J. 
himself ; whether through mistake, or from intention, I do not 
say. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 26, 1827. 
My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 24th instant. 
You will have since seen the late Convention with England, 
which has been communicated to Congress, and published. A 
great and somewhat general mistake has prevailed in respect to 
the extent of the claim which existed on Great Britain, on ac- 
count of slaves, and other property, taken away or destroyed. 
The claim, on the part of American citizens, arises out of the 
fust article of the Treaty of Ghent, which stipulates, "All terri- 
tory, places, and possessions, whatsoever, taken by either party 
from the other, during the war, or which may be taken after 
signing this treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter men- 
tioned, shall be restored without delay, and without causing any 
destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery, or other pub- 
lic property, originally captured in the said forts or places, and 
which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the ratifications 



OF HENRY CLAY. 157 

of this treaty, or any slaves, or other private property." The 
parties differed ahout the meaning of this clause, and referred 
their dispute to the Emperor Alexander. He decided it in favor 
of the United States, and a Tripartite Convention was conclude! 
at St. Petersburg, to give effect to this decision. The mixed 
commission (composed of Messrs. Jackson and Cheves), was cre- 
ated to execute that commission; but they could not agree, and 
the late Convention, by which the United States agree to accept, 
in behalf of the claimants, a gross sum, was substituted to the 
commission. 

Now it is evident, from this narrative, that the new Conven- 
tion could only provide for that class of complainants who were 
comprehended in the first article of the Treaty of Ghent. Gov- 
ernment, in fact, was only an agent or trustee for that class. If 
you go back beyond the Treaty of Ghent, perhaps one class of 
persons who had their property taken away or destroyed, during 
the late war, has as much equity as another. But the treaty 
did not provide for any but one class. To that limited extent, 
Great Britain has always been dissatisfied with the stipulation 
and the interpretation put upon it. Government, now, can do no 
more than see that the class provided for shall have the benefit 
of a most fortunate provision made for them in the treaty. It 
can not undertake to divide a fund, intended exclusively for that 
class, among those who are, unfortunately, not comprehended 
in the Treaty of Ghent. If it were to go out of the treaty, where 
would be the stopping-place ? 

A board will probably be created by Congress, during the 
present session, but its duty will be restricted to a fair execution 
of the Treaty of Ghent, the Imperial decision, and the late Con- 
vention. The average value fixed by the mixed commission, 
and the definitive list sent to it from the Department of Stale, 
in pursuance of the Convention at St. Petersburg, will govern 
the new Board ; and it will belong to that to decide, under the 
limitations stated, upon all cases thus presented to it, and upon 
the sufficiency of the evidence by which- they are made out. 

Should there be a surplus in the fund, Congress alone possess- 
es the power to dispose of it. 



158 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 8, 1827. 

My dear Sir., — I send by this mail the copies of the British 
Acts of Parliament desired. 

It is a subject of deep regret with me (and I beg you to say 
so to Governor Tyler) that his friendly letter to me, on the oc- 
casion of my vote in the House of Representatives, on the late 
Presidential election, should have been used to assail or annoy 
him. In any casual allusion which I ever made to that letter, it 
was far from my intention that it should have been made in- 
strumental to his prejudice. The truth is, that it is one of a 
hundred similar letters which I received, about the period of its 
date, from all quartets of the Union, and from some of the most 
distinguished men in it. I have heard that the letter was inad- 
vertently (and certainly with no unfriendly purpose toward the 
Governor) spoken of by a Mr. Clarke, a lawyer of Winchester, 
who had been, a few days before, with me, and to whom I ex- 
pressed, what I certainly felt, much gratification with his election, 
and stated that I had the satisfaction to believe that Governor 
Tyler did justice to the motives which had influenced me on the 
above memorable occasion, as he had addressed to me, at the 
time, a letter couched in the most friendly terms. I understand 
that Mr. Clarke incidentally spoke of this conversation, not recol- 
lecting that a printer was by, who felt himself at liberty to make 
the matter a topic in his next paper. 

Whether it was in this way or not that it got out, I can not 
tell. It may have been in some other manner; for there is an 
linage prevailing which spares no privacy, and which, unless 
checked, must destroy all confidence. 

Tell the Governor that h I not take the matter much at 

heart; to recollect how much I have borne, and with what phi- 
losophy and fortitude. Tell him, moreover, that we shall cer- 
tainly prevail, and that I do not even despair of our native State. 
When lie conies here, no one entertains the idea that he will 
renounce any of the great principles of his public action, and 
least of all, that by which he judges of men and things as they 
are, and not as passion, party, or prejudice may represent them. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 159 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKH. 

Washington, February if,, 1327. 

My de vi Sin, — The volume of the British Acts of Parliament, 
containing these which General Taylor desires, is in possession 
of the clerk of the House of Representatives. We have not 
been able to get it back, and I fear may not in time for the use 
of the General. But if I can regain it, I will send it by mail 
for his use. 

I do not wish you to write to Governor Tyler. It will do to 
speak to him when you see him. I should regret very much if 
he feels hurt about the letter. I can only repeat, that any allu- 
sion which I made to it in conversation was far from any design 
to prejudice him, or any expectation that it should get into the 
public prints. I hope, on the other hand, that he has not per- 
mitted himself to attribute to me the violation of any confiden- 
tial correspondence. His letter had nothing confidential in it. 
It was public in its nature, public topics were treated of, and it 
was addressed to a public man. It was spontaneous, and there- 
fore more prized by me. We have no news. 



PORTER CLAY* TO MR. CLAY. 

Fi'.axkfop.t, February 22, 1S27. 
Dear Brother, — Your favor of the 3d instant came to hand 
in due time, and I heartily thank you for the valuable inclos- 
urcs, particularly your speech before the Colonization Society. 
Your views upon that subject have my most hearty concurrence, 
and I pray Almighty God may bless the institution with his ap- 
probation, and make it the means of extending the light of his 
glorious Gospel into that benighted land ; that Ethiopia may 
stretch out her hands to God, and the isles of the sea b le to 

ivj :ice in the fullness of his free salvation. You arc right when 
you say that " God may convert that which has been our great 
sin into an extensive blessing to that people" — not that we 
should be encouraged to do evil that grace may abound ; God 
id : for how then should God judge the world? But that we' 
through his all-wise providence should get to himself a revenue 
of glory by that which in us was originally wicked. 

* ilr. Clay's brother, a Baptist minister, since dead. 



160 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

JAMES MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

MoxTrELiEB, March 24, 1827. 

Dear Sir, — After your kind offer, I make no apology for in- 
closing another letter, which I wish to have the advantage of a 
conveyance from the Department of State. Its ohject is to ob- 
tain from Mr. Gallatin a small service for our university, and 
that with as little delay as may he. 

While I was charged with the Department of State, the Brit- 
ish doctrine against a neutral trade with belligerent ports, shut 
in peace and open in war, was examined at some length, and 
the examination published in a stout pamphlet. I have been 
applied to by several friends for a copy, which I could not fur- 
nish, nor do I know that they are attainable, unless obsolete copies 
should remain in the Department. If this be the case, I should 
be thankful for the means of complying with the application. 

Mrs. Madison joins in offering to Mrs. Clay and yourself assur- 
ances of cordial regards and best wishes. 



HENRY CLAY JR. TO HIS FATHER. 

Wi^t Point, March 27, 1827. 
Dear Father, — Since I last heard from you, Mr. and Mrs. 
Smith, with Margaret Ross, have been here. They remained 
but a day or two, and seemed delighted with the place. From 
them I learned that you were well, and that Theodore is going 
as a bearer of dispatches to the Congress of Panama, likewise, 
that it is your intention to visit Kentucky some time in May, 
but they do not inform me whether my mother goes with you 
or not. Should you come to the determination of leaving 
Washington, I should be extremely happy to see you here. 
The lakes will then be open, and will afford you a speedy and 
pleasant route. Worthington will be very little out of your 
way, and by calling, you will gratify James. * 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Washington, April 2, 1827. 
Dear Sir, — I am glad to learn from your letter, dated at 
Wheeling, that you had safely advanced so far on your journey. 
I will attend to yonr wish about the note to your speech, so far 



OF HENRY CLAY. 161 

as it is practicable. Since you left us, the city has been very 
quiet. From Albany, our friends write in a tone of confidence, 
as to ultimate success, about which, I think, they can hardly be 
mistaken. The dev< lopments of the "Intelligencer" have pro- 
duced great effect in that quarter, and from other parts of Penn- 
sylvania than those which you visited, our information still runs 
in a favorable current. They tell this anecdote of Buchanan. 
At a tavern in Harrisburg, where he was electioneering, he re- 
marked that he -had heard much of changes from Jackson to 
Adams, but could see nohody that had changed." A member 
of the Legislature, from Meadsville, who was present, replied. 
"Yes, sir, here are eleven members of the Legislature, all of 
whom were the friends of General Jackson, and now are the 
friends of Mr. Adams. And I will tell you why — because the 
administration is right, and the opposition have been defeating 
the best measures." 



ALBERT GALLATIN TO MR. CLAY. 

London, May 3, 18-27. 

Sir, — Mr. Colquhoun, the agent of the Hanse Towns in 
London, called* on me yesterday, and informed me that the city 
of Frankfort having given her consent to that measure, the 
Hanse Towns had appointed Mr. Rumph their Charge* d'Affaires 
at Paris, special minister to the United States, with power to ne- 
gotiate a treaty of commerce, that he had accepted, and intended 
to sail from Havre for America, in the middle of August. 

Mr. Colquhoun also said that he was charged by the city of 
Hamburg, to obtain from me a communication of the answer I 
might receive from my Government, to the note of Mr. Sieve- 
king, which I had transmitted at his request. I said that, having 
informed that gentleman that I had no authority or instructions 
on that subject, he had sent me this note in question, as an unof- 
ficial paper, that I had transmitted it as such, and that, under 
these circumstances, I did not think it probable that an answer 
would be made by my Government to that communication. 
The Government of the Hanse Towns is very economical : the 
sending a minister abroad, is for them an extraordinary measure, 
and as three months will elapse before Mr. Rumph's intended de- 
ll 



162 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

parture, I suppose they would wish to know whether there is a 
reasonable prospect of his succeeding. 

It appeared to me, from the general tenor of the conversation, 
that not only are the Hanse Towns anxious of concluding a 
treaty of commerce with the United States, on account of its imme- 
diate advantages, but that they believe that it will have a ten- 
dency to increase the consideration in which they are held, and. 
to strengthen the tenure on which they hold their situation of 
independent Republics. I said, of course, nothing that could 
commit my Government, but adverted in general to the liberal 
commercial policy adopted by the United States, and to their 
friendly disposition and feelings toward the free commercial 
cities of Germany. It is not probable that you will have any 
difficulty with them, as relates to either commerce or navigation, 
as generally understood. But you are undoubtedly aware that 
they are very narrow and selfish, as regards merchants residing 
within their own precincts, and that they may be unwilling to 
grant to citizens of the United States, who might be desirous 
of forming commercial establishments in any of those cities, the 
same privileges which foreign merchants indiscriminately enjoy, 
in common with our own citizens in the ports of the United 
States where they reside. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, May 25, 1827. 

My dear Sir, — I took the liberty of sending you a few days 
ago, a copy of some speeches, etc., of mine, which have been 
recently published in Philadelphia, and which I hope you will 
have safely received. 

Have you read the accounts about the execution of the six 
militia-men at Mobile, early in 1814? I think the Nashville 
Committee are entitled to the public thanks for bringing that 
matter to light. I had a vague impression about it, but I had 
really put it m the large class of doubtful reports. The Com- 
mittee have undeceived me ; and I think if they favor the pub- 
lic with many more similar disclosures, they will serve most 
effectually the cause they have espoused. What has become of 
the eloquent pen of Algernon Sidney ? I think the case of 



OF HENRY CLAY. 163 

these poor deluded militia-men furnishes a theme on which it 
might he employed with as much instruction and benefit as when 
it was formerly exercised with such powerful influence. 



MR. CLAY TO COLONEL RUTGERS. 

Washington, June 4, 1827. 

Dear Sir, — Long accustomed to regard you as one of the 
fathers of the Republican church, to which we both belong, I 
hope I shall be excused from that circumstance, if I am not au- 
thorized by our acquaintance, in taking the liberty of addressing 
this letter to you. 

You have felt too deep an interest and had too much agency 
in the public affairs of our country to admit of your beholding 
with indifference what is now passing, or to allow you to for- 
bear from giving, while you are spared among us, the benefit 
of your matured counsels. And I am greatly mistaken in the 
estimate I have made of your judgment and character, if you 
can approve the conduct of the opposition to the General Ad- 
ministration, or the object, or the means which they are em- 
ploying to accomplish that object, of supplanting Mr. Adams 
and electing General Jackson. 

During the administration of the father of our present Chief 
Magistrate, I was too young and too poor to take any part in the 
public councils ,• but I, nevertheless, had very decided opinions, 
to which I gave all the effect I could in private circles, against 
some of the prominent measures of that administration, and 
what I believed to be its tendency, if not the ultimate aim of 
some of its principal supporters. But I could not allow myself 
to transfer my dislike of the Administration of the father to the 
person and public character of the son, who, I firmly believe, 
after an acquaintance with him of more than twenty years, to 
be sincerly attached to our free institutions, and to the general 
cause of liberty. When, therefore, the only alternative pre- 
sented, on a late occasion, to my choice in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, was between him and General Jackson, who appeared 
to me to possess no other than military pretensions, I could not. 
doubt the side on which duty and safety lay. Far from regret- 
ting the choice which I then made, I should make it again, undei 
similar circumstances, and I must ever think that the electiou 



164 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of General Jackson at that or any other time, would be a most 
unfortunate event for this country. I accepted a place in the 
Administration from a full conviction that it was a duty I owed 
myself, after the flagitious attacks made upon me, one object of 
which was to intimidate me. and under the unanimous advice 
of -all my Congressional friends. 

If there be one characteristic which, more than any other, 
distinguishes the Republican party, and of which, more than any 
other, they may be justly proud, it is their devotion to liberty and 
to the guarrantees for its preservation which experience and reason 
demonstrate to be necessary. Does not the history of all na- 
tions and of all times prove, that the greatest danger to freedom 
is from mere military men? With this light before them, can 
the Republican party, if they are faithful to their own princi- 
ples, and desirous to perpetuate to their posterity that liberty 
which they themselves enjoy, lend themselves to the election of 
a chief magistrate, who possesses no other qualification than 
that of being a successful military commander ? I thought they 
could not, and yet belipve that they can not. 

It would be a great satisfaction to me to find that the opinions 
which I have now expressed receive your approbation. But 
whether I am so fortunate or not, I hope you will do justice to 
my motives in communicating them, and in addressing you at 
the present period, and at tbe same time be fully pursuaded that 
I have the greatest respect and veneration for your character. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, June 4, 18 - .'7. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 2d instant. You 
ask me if I am going to Kentucky soon, and if I can be spared. 
I am compelled by my private business, and particularly by that 
of the estate of my deceased friend, Colonel Morrison, of which 
I am the only acting executor, to go to Kentucky, and I shall 
leave this city for that purpose on the 10th instant. It is my in- 
tention to return by the 1st of August. I shall leave the business 
of the Department in sach condition, that I do not believe that 
any prejudice to the public will arise from my absence. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 165 

RICIIARD RUSH TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, June 23, 1827. 
My dear Sir, — I have just read Lord Grey's speech, and can 
not resist the desire I have to send it to you. You will recog- 
nize iu it sentiments I have expressed as regards Mr. Canning 
and the new States. If Earl Grey had been better informed, he 
would have said that it was you who did most to call them into 
being. I say this in no idle spirit of praise, having always, abroad 
and at home, expressed the opinion that, next to their own ex- 
ertions, the South Americans owe to you more than to any 
other man in either hemisphere, their independence, you having 
led the way to our acknowledgment of it. This is truth; this 
is history. Without our acknowledgment, England would not 
have taken the step to this day. This is my belief. I give 
Mr. Canning no credit for the part he acted. It was forced upon 
him by our lead, which he never had the magnanimity to avow, 
but strove to claim all the merit for England, or rather for him- 
self. He esteems civil and political liberty no more than Lord 
Londonderry did, though circumstances have made him appear 
to be somewhat more their champion. That our public should 
be inclined to rejoice at Mr. Canning's present triumph, is, I 
think, the effect of his character not being understood among us. 
Certainly, as regards the United States, he has been, of all British 
statesmen, the least disposed to do us justice ; yes, truly, the 
least of any that ever we have had to deal with, without a sin- 
gle exception. Forgetting, if we can, all that he has said of us, 
let us take his acts ; for was it not he who disavowed Erskine's 
arrangement, which, had it been sanctioned in England, might 
have prevented a war ? Was it not he who in 1S23 infused the 
unfriendly tone into that long negotiation at London, almost 
refusing to listen to nine out of ten of onr claims, obviously 
just as most of them were ? And was it not he, who, in 1S26, 
most abruptly closed the West India trade against us, upon pre- 
texts the most unexpected and flimsy ? I could make the list 
longer, but that I should make too lon_ r a letter of it, having in- 
tended to do nothing more than send you Lord Grey's speech. 
I know how high you rate his speeches. Mr. Canning never 
liked the United States or their institutions, and never will, his 
Liverpool speech, and the conclusion of his late dispatch, not- 



166 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

withstanding. He will watch all our steps with a sharper and 
more active jealousy than perhaps any other English statesman 
living. Of all their public men, we have the least to expect from 
him. 



HENRY CLAY JR. TO HIS FATHER. 

West Point, June 24, 1827. 

Dear Father, — I arrived here last Thursday, the 21st, and 
have already been examined, and, I am glad to add, have been 
admitted. Yesterday we came into camp, and I am now in my 
tent, sitting on my knapsack and writing on my chair. I am 
better pleased than ever with the Academy. I was well received 
by the officers on my return, and now start with the prospect of 
success hereafter — am delighted with the hardships accompany- 
ing a military life, but still give the civil the preference. My 
duties will prevent my writing more, although I had intended 
to have written a long letter concerning the discipline and course 
of study in use here. Give my respects to all my relations and 
friends. Tell Cousin Nannette that I am daily expecting an 
answer to my letter which was written before I left Washington. 



BARON DE MAREUIL TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, June SO, 1827. 

Sir, — At the moment when I am about to depart, permit me 
to add to my official communications of this day, some more 
particular expression of the sentiments which I bear away with 
me, and the better part of which is assured to you. I have 
often regretted that conversation was not more easy between us, 
being persuaded of the interest and pleasure which you would 
have been able to throw over it, and eager as I would have been 
to make myself understood in those things of which the pen can 
not treat, but in which the heart and spirit may find satisfaction. 
I hope, however, that I may not have been misunderstood by 
you. and that I have made an impression upon you akin to that 
which you have left on me. 

The extensive and beautiful tour which I have just finished, 
has much increased my admiration of North America. I have 



OF HENRY CLAY. 167 

regretted that I was not at Black Rock, and that I was unable to 
deliver, in person, to General and Mrs. Porter, the recommenda- 
tions with which you honored me. Madame Man nil begs that 
Mrs. Clay will be pleased to accept hei adieus and compliments. 
I venture to add my homage, and to beg, Sir, that you will ac- 
cept, at the same time, with my thanks for the welcome treat- 
ment which I received from you during my residence in Wash- 
ington, the assurance of the invariable sentiments of high con- 
sideration which I have professed for you. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, July 24, 18 27. 
My dear Sir, — Your reply to General Jackson's letter is ad- 
mirable, and has been most favorably received every where, at 
least on this side the Alleghany. It places the General in a po- 
sition where he can not remain. He must move, in some direc- 
tion ; and, whatever movement he makes, will either embarrass 
his friends, or still more embarrass himself. I have a suspicion 
that the respectable member of Congress is Mr. Buchanan. If 
this should turn out so, it will place him in an awkward situa- 
tion, since, it seems, he did recommend a bargain with your 
friends, on the suspicion that such a bargain had been proposed 
to them on the part of the friends of Mr. Adams. I am curious 
to see how this matter will develop itself. 



FRANKLIN LITCHFIELD TO MR. CLAY. 

Puerto Cabello, Colombia, July 30, I 
Sir, — I do myself the pleasure to transmit to you a case, con- 
taining the bust of President Bolivar, which is a most perfect 
likeness of this great South American statesman. This is the 
first copy ever taken of him in this style and was lately execu- 
ted by an Italian, at the city of Caracas, and I bog of you to 
accept the same in my name, as a token of respect for your dis- 
interested and patriotic eloquence, displayed on the floor of Con- 
gress, in defense of the rights and independence of the native 
country of this distinguished liberator. Mr. Royal Phelps, Jr., 
is charged with the delivery of said bust, in person, and if you 



168 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

have no objections, I have requested him to have a portrait paint- 
ing taken from it, in oleo, by one of our first artists. I have 
also requested Mr. Phelps to make several inquiries of you relat- 
ing to my consular duties, and beg of you the favor to commu- 
nicate to him your views frankly. 



SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD TO MR. CLAY. 

Waynesbokough, August 8, 1827. 

My dear Sir, — You have set the whole world in commotion 
— never did one speech produce such an effect. It meets almost 
universal approbation, and with the wise and good there is no 
exception. I think they praise it too much, good as it is — a 
little envy, you know, is sometimes pardonable. I am informed 
that General J. has given an answer to your letter — shall see it 
in the morning at Staunton. It is said to be mild, and to give 
up B. as the man. 

I am satisfied that a rapid change is taking place in this State, 
and my hopes that even Virginia will be with us have been 
confirmed ; they grow stronger every day. I find many men 
with us whom I looked upon as aliens. Yon may depend that 
I shall endeavor to encourage the process which is going on. 
Can not you give me some good news at the White Sulphur ? 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Pari?, August 12, 1827. 

These few lines, my dear friend, are intrusted to Mrs. Shaw, 
a daughter of General Greene, and Mrs. Greene, her niece and 
cousin, who have passed with us most of the time of their sojourn 
in Europe, and who have inspired my family and myself with 
the sentiments of highest respect, warm affection, and every 
wish for their welfare. Mrs. Shaw will go to Washington, in 
pursuit of a claim on British compensation, and I beg you to 
favor her with your kind advice : both ladies, as our intimate 
friends, will tell you more about Lagrange and its inhabitants 
than I could do in a long letter. I have written to the President 
about my family and election concerns; Mr. Brown gives you 



OF HENRY CLAY. 169 

an account of public affairs. I shall therefore content myself 
with requesting my respects to Mrs. Clay, remembrance of me 
to your family, colleagues, and other friends, being most truly 
and affectionately, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, August 14, 182*7. 

Mr dear Sir, — I .received your obliging favor from Waynes- 
borough. I should be very glad if I could participate with you 
and Mr. Southard in the pleasure and benefit of the Springs. 
My health is, however, not bad. 

I hope you arc not mistaken in the good effect of my Lexing- 
ton speech. Mr. Buchanan has presented his communication to 
the public ; and although he evidently labors throughout the 
whole of it to spare and cover General Jackson, he fails in every 
essential particular to sustain the General. Indeed, I could not 
desire a stronger statement from Mr. Buchanan. The tables are 
completely turned upon the General. Instead of any intrigues 
on my part and that of my friends, they were altogether on the 
side of General Jackson and his friends. But I will leave the 
statement to your own reflections. I directed a copy to be in- 
closed yesterday to Mr. Southard. It must confirm any- good 
impression produced by my speech. 

Tell Mr. Southard that his children are much better, and that 
he need not entertain any fear about them. 

With my best wishes that you may both realize much benefit 
from the mineral waters. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

WAsnixGTox, August 19, 1827. 
My dear Sir, — We have only imperfect accounts from some 
of the Congressional districts in Kentucky. These authorize 
the belief that Metcalf, Trimble, and Clarke are re-elected. 
And so far as I learn, the Administration tickets have gen- 
erally prevailed in their districts. Captain Byers appears to 
have declined, and Beatty and Morris were elected without any 
great struggle. The inclosed letter from Mr. Robertson, late 



170 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, on his return home 
from Harrisburg, would justify the hope that Mr. Crittenden is 
elected, and Mr. Walton defeated by the Administration candi- 
date in his district : but I do not think we ought yet to count 
upon these auspicious results. 

The city has been extremely hot since you left us ; but, for 
the last two days, the heat has been tempered by misty weather. 
I think you have made a lucky escape. I should find it very 
lonesome, if the occupations of business did not constantly en- 
gage me. » 

My best respects to Mrs. Johnston ; and I pray you also to 
communicate them to Mr. and Mrs. Madison, and to Mrs. Cutts. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston-, August 22, 1827. 

My dear Sir, — My letter to Colonel Johnson was not import- 
ant, and the delay in its transmission is of no moment. 

Yoi> speak very modestly of recent events, in which you 
have borne so distinguished and so successful a part. I can 
not think General Jackson will ever recover from the blow 
which he has received. Your speech at Lexington, in point of 
merit, as a clear and well stated argument, is certainly at the 
head of all your efforts ; and its effects on public opinion have 
not been exceeded by those of any political paper, I may almost 
say, within my recollection. Buchanan is treated too gently. 
Many persons think his letter candid. I deem otherwise. It 
seems to me he has labored very hard to protect the General, as 
far as he could without injury to himself. Although the Gener- 
al's friends this way, however, affect to consider Buchanan's 
letter as supporting the charge, it is possible the General him- 
self, and the Nashville Committee may think, otherwise, and 
complain of" Buchanan. I should expect this, with some confi- 
dence, if they received the letter a little earlier than they may 
have seen the turn which the Atlantic editors have attempted to 
give it. As these last have pretty generally agreed to say that 
the letter does support the General, the Nashville commentators, 
if they see the example in season, may be disposed to follow it. 
I do not yet learn what answer comes from that quarter to your 
speech. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 171 



R. P. LETCHER TO MR. CLAY. 

Lancaster, August 27, 1827. 

My dear Sir, — Yours ot the 9th instant came to hand last 
night. The one hy Mr. A., I received a few days since by 
private hand, from the county of Harlan. With your letter of 
the 9th. Mr. Buchanan's response to the hero was received. This 
answer is well put together. As they say, in Connecticut, 
" there is a great deal of good reading" in Back's reply. It is 
modest and genteel, yet strong and conclusive. I am truly de- 
lighted with the manner in which B. has acquitted himself. I 
really feared and believed he was placed in such a dilemma, by 
the General, that he could not extricate himself with any sort 
of credit. But he has come forth victoriously. I am greatly 
gratified with the result, and must believe it will have a happy 
effect upon the Presidential election. It is impossible it should 
turn out otherwise. Virginia, after this, will not — can not sup- 
port the General. I never had the least hope of Virginia until now. 

I presume Buck's reply supersedes the necessity of any refer- 
ence to the conversation in my room. I am glad of it. 



MR. CLAY TO 5m. ADAMS. 

W aldington, August 30, 1827. 

Dear Sir, — I received yesterday your letter of the 23d instant. 
After its date you must have received other dispatches from the 
Department of State, transmitted by Mr. Gallatin. From them 
you will perceive that he did not take the two points, proposed by 
the British plenipotentiaries, for reference to his Government, but 
for his own consideration (see his dispatch No. 87), and that he 
afterward decided to reject them, and gave to the British pleni- 
potentiaries two written arguments, one relating to the point re- 
specting the Commercial Convention, and the other, to that re- 
specting the North-western Boundary (sec his dispatch No. 8S). 
In this state of the case the matter stands. It does not appear 
that the British plenipotentiaries had, in consequence of that de- 
termination of Mr. Gallatin, refused to renew the Convention of 
1S18 ; but that, on the contrary, they had again taken the sub- 
ject of the North-western Boundary into consideration. So the 
affair, I understand, was left on the 14th of July, 1S27, when 



172 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Mr. Huskisson was compelled, by indisposition, to withdraw from 
the negotiation. It was expected that Mr. Grant would be sub- 
stituted for him (see Mr. Gallatin's dispatch No. 96). 

Under these circumstances, shall I instruct Mr. Gallatin to ac- 
cede to the British demands on the two points referred to ? I 
shall await your further directions, founded on the dispatches 
which must have been received by you subsequent to the date 
of your letter. Shall I confer with the other members of the 
Administration who may be here ? 

I am inclined to think that the British Government may waive 
both points. I should be sorry that the negotiation should break 
off on these points, but there will be still another year to go upon. 
As to the discrimination between rolled and hammered iron, I 
am inclined to think the weight of the argument is with the 
British ; but Congress has at least twice decided otherwise. 
You will recollect Mr. Baldwin's argument, which, however, I 
think, was refuted by that of Mr. S. Canning. 

On the other point, we should, by consenting to the restraint 
which the British Government wishes to impose against our 
military occupation of any part of the territory on the north-west 
coast, come into direct collision with the House of Representa- 
tives. What shall we lose if that part of the Convention is not 
renewed ? What danger shall we encounter ? None, unless 
from our own acts. What shall we gain by the renewal with 
the British modification ? What danger avoid ? None. We 
shall only have tied those hands by a treaty, which we may keep 
still without it. And it will be the Executive who will have 
co-operated in fastening the hands of Congress. 

I do not think that we ought to be hastening any settlements 
beyond the Rocky Mountains. We ought to do nothing more, 
in my opinion, there than may be necessary to preserve our 
rights for posterity. 



MR. BARBOUR TO MR. CLAY. 

Bauboursville, August 30, 182*7. 

Dear Sir, — The inclosed paper was delivered me yesterday 
by a servant, who immediately disappeared on its delivery; so 
that I know not from whom it comes.* Yet the information it 

• Mr. Clay endorses the envelope thus: "Supposed to be from T. J. R." The 
result -will be fouud ou pages 17 1, 175. 



OF HENRI CLAY. 173 

contains, and the anxiety manifested by the writer, induce me to 
transmit it by the earliest opportunity afforded by the mail. 

Mad as R is, I can scarcely believe he will move in the 

subject. But surely you can have no difficulty in deciding, 
should lie do so. to treat his call with contempt. 

If you have any thing new, let me hear from you. 



STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. 

Wednesday M rning, August 28. 

Dear Sir, — I should be wanting in common gratitude toward 
Mr. Clay, for the interest evinced by him in Mrs. Randolph, if I 
did not make every endeavor to apprise him in time of a piece 
of news which came to my ears yesterday afternoon. 

I happened to go to Charlottesville, and there heard of the 
piece in the " National Journal," and that Colonel Randolph had 
left there, intending to take the Richmond stage of yesterday 
afternoon, on his way to Washington, determined that he would 
make Mr. Clay right him.. He was exceedingly exasperated, 
and, as you know, is capable of any violence. 

The northern stage had already been gone several hours, when 
this news was communicated to me, and my first impression was 
that Colonel Randolph had gone in that. After a good deal of 
painful perplexity in endeavoring to fix on a course which would 
reconcile my duty, as a member of this family, to Mr. Clay, with 
necessary secrecy (for were it ever to come to his ears, or even 
suspicion, that I had taken this step, the consequence would be 
an immediate explosion against me), I determined on riding 
down to Barboursville in the night. Having ascertained that 
you were probably there, and supposing that you could possibly 
send off a messenger by the same stage, to Mr. Clay. 

Having ascertained that he was to go to Washington via Rich- 
mond, I changed my plan. I inquired at the Post-office how far 
the northern stage went that night. Came home, wrote a hasty 
letter to Mr. Clay, inclosed it in one to Mr. Wirt (to avoid hav- 
ing it known in the neighborhood that any letter had been 
written under such suspicious circumstances to Mr. Clay), on the 
back of which I desired any one of Mr. Wirt's family to open 
the letter — sent it off by a. confidential servant. This morning 
he brings me back the letter, with the disheartening intelligi 
that the stage, instead of stopping for the night at the house 



174 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

where I was informed at the Post-office that it put up, had left 
there an hour or two hefore sunset. 

I should myself ride to Barboursville this morning, hut for the 
certainty of this visit becoming known in the neighborhood, 
and thus bringing on consequences which would, in the present 
state of the family be deplorable to them, independently of any 
anxiety which I may, or may not entertain to avoid his ire on 
my own account. 

Were you, sir, in Washington, I should desire you to be on 
your guard, for you are an object of deadly aversion. 

This is written for no eyes or ears but yours and Mr. Clay's. 
Burn it, if you please, as soon as read. 

In great haste, yours with grateful respect, 

* 

On second thoughts, I obliterate my name, that you may an- 
swer to any inquiries, the letter is anonymous, and also without 
any date as to place. 



THOMAS M. RANDOLPH TO MR. CLAY. 

"\Vashington, September 1, 1827. . 

Sir, — Upon what I think sufficient ground, I believe that you 
have, several times since the month of December, 1824, made 
use of expressions, insulting in their purport, and injurious in 
their consequences with regard to me. 

I believe that by such expressions, and by unjust representa- 
tions, you occasioned that conduct toward me from the Depart- 
ment of War, which defeated the object of my mission to Flo- 
rida, last winter. 

Lastly, I believe that you are the author of the piece in the 
"National Journal" of last Saturday, August 25th, in which 
such abusive language is used toward me. 

With respectful feelings I call upon you to declare whether 
my belief be well-founded, or not, in each of the cases stated. 



MR. CLAY TO THOMAS M. RANDOLPH. 

W ishinqtoh September 1st, 1827. 

Sir, — Mr. Wheaton having delivered to me this day a letter 
from you, in which you have called upon me to declare whether 
your belief be well-founded or not, in each of the cases therein 



OF HENRY CLAY. 175 

stated, I take much pleasure in saying, First, that I have no 
recollection of having before or since the month of December, 
1821, made use of any expressions insulting in their purport, and 
injurious in their consequences with regard to you ; Secondly, 
that I am fully persuaded you labor under an entire mistake in 
supposing that, by any expressions or representations of mine, 
the Department of War was induced to adopt a line of conduct 
in respect to you which defeated the object of your mission to 
Florida last winter. I had no agency in your appointment, nor 
had I any thing to do with the relations which subsequently 
arose between the Department of War and yourself. I remem- 
ber to have heard with satisfaction of the appointment about the 
time it was made, and I assure you that I could not possibly 
have entertained any other wish in regard to your mission, but 
that it should have been attended with full success ; and, Third- 
ly, so far from being the author of the piece to which I under- 
stand you to refer, in the " National Journal," of the 25th ult. 
(the piece under the editorial head), I had not even read it, until 
since I have received your note. The paper is generally left at 
my house before breakfast, and I do generally throw my eye 
over it, but the number containing the article in question, was 
either not left as usual, or was not seen by me. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL HARRISON. 

Washington Cnr, September G, 1827. 
Dear Sir, — A speech of Mr. Senator Branch, of North Caro- 
lina (of which I transmit you a copy herewith), has been re- 
cently published as having been delivered by that gentleman on 
the occasion of the Senate's confirmation of my nomination to 
the office which I now hold. It is brought forward to impugn 
a statement contained in a speech which I delivered in July 
last, at Noble's, near Lexington. In the course of an argument, 
which I urged against the improbability of any such overtures 
having been made, as General Jackson stated himself to have 
received from my friends, I contended that if they had been re- 
ceived, General Jackson was bound, when, as a Senator of tho 
United States, he was required to act upon the nomination, to 
have disclosed them to the Senate, and to have moved the ap- 



176 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

pointment of a Committee of Inquiry ; and that it was especially 
incumbent on him to have adopted that course, as it did not 
then appear that any other Senator knew of the alleged overtures. 
I observed that I had requested a Senator of the United States, 
when my nomination should be taken up, to ask of the Senate 
the appointment of such a committee, unless it should appeal 
to him to be altogether unnecessary; and I added that I was 
afterward informed, "that when it was acted upon, General 
Jackson, and every other Senator present, were silent as to the 
imputations now made ; no one presuming to question my honor 
or integrity." 

Although it can not be regarded as material to the validity of 
the argument, as urged against General Jackson, whether Mr. 
Branch did or did not make a speech in opposition to my appoint- 
ment, I am desirous that in the statement of any matter of fact 
made by me, even on a collateral or unimportant point, there 
should be perfect accuracy ; or that, if a mistake has been com- 
mitted, it should be rectified. You will, I think, recollect, that 
I desired you, as my friend, with much earnestness, to ask from 
the Senate the appointment of a Committee of Investigation into 
Mr. Kremer's charge, if, from the course the nomination should 
take in the Senate, it should appear to you to he at all necessary ; 
that you afterward informed me that nothing had occurred to 
render the appointment of such a committee necessary, and that 
you had, therefore, forbore to ask it. The Senate acted, as 
usual, with closed doors, and, consequently, no one was present 
but the members and the officers of the body. The injunction 
of secrecywas removed after the decision upon the nomination. 

After the publication of my speech at Noble's, upon seeing a 
statement in some of the public prints that Mr. Branch had ad- 
dressed some observations to the Senate, in opposition to my 
nomination, an indistinct recollection occurred to me that yen 
did inform me that no Senator but Mr. Branch had said any 
thing on the subject of my appointment ; that he made a few 
remarks, which were but little attended to, and which appeared 
to produce no impression. I think you did not state, particu- 
larly, what they were, for, 1 am quite sure, if you had mentioned 
that Mr. Branch had assigned the reasons which hu now puts 
forward, a more distinct and durable impression would have been 
made on my mind. It would, however, have been too late, at 
that time, for me to have applied to the Senate for the appoint- 



OF HENKT CLAY. 177 

merit of a committee, if I had even thought it to be necessary, 
as the Senate had finally acted upon the nomination. 

My object in addressing this letter to you being to obtain 
from you a statement, according to your recollection, of the 
above transactions, so far as you had an agency in them, I shall 
be very much obliged to you to furnish me with a reply as soon 
as may be convenient. 



FROM MR. CLAY'S MOTHER, ELIZABETH WATKINS. 

"Woodford, Kentucky, September IS, 182 
My dear Son, — Your kind favor of the 14th of August last, 
by mail, came safe to hand a few days ago. I feel glad that 
you have got again to the bosom of^your family, and found 
them all well. Rest assured, my son, I have been a great deal 
worse since you last saw me than I was when I had the pleasure 
of seeing you. I am still very low. I can make out to walk 
across the house with the help of a cane, or some one to help 
me. I feel to-day somewhat better, having had a good night's 
rest. My cough is not as bad as it has been. Your aunt Moss 
is very poorly, and has been for two or three weeks ; also, her 
son Philip is very low : at present, there is very little hope of 
their recovery. Mr. Blackburn has been very poorly, but is 
getting better, so that he is able to attend to his business. 
Your sister is well. As to your brother John, I have not seen 
him for two weeks ; I expect him in a few days : he was quite 
well when he left me. Mr. Watkins still enjoys his usual 
health, but much worn out by attending on me, both night and 
day. Mr. Watkins joins me in love to yon and Lucretia, and 
the rest of the family. Pray, my son, write me when conve- 
nient : and that God may bless you all, is the sincere prayer of 
your mother. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Wa dikgtok, September 14,1 
Dear Sir, — I have received your favor of yesterday, and 
thank you for the agreeable intelligence which it communicates. 
If we can succeed in the coming Maryland elections, in the Dela- 
ware election, and in that in the city of Philadelphia, our cause 

12 



178 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

will again be put in good heart. From Kentucky my late in- 
formation is more encouraging. The partial defeat in the Con- 
gressional elections has aroused our friends, and they think it will 
ultimately have a good effect. Letcher says he is more confi- 
dent than ever of our cause prevailing. I think the exultation 
on the one side, and the depression on the other, will be found 
to be without any sufficient ground, and that it will be tem- 
porary. 

I am glad that you conversed with Markley. It may be 
necessary for him to come out in the end with his statement, 
though I think that not necessary till we hear from the Hermit- 
age. At the last date I saw from Nashville, Buchanan's state- 
ment had just reached there. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, September 24, 1827. 

My dear Sir, — I received your obliging favor of the 21st in- 
stant, with its inclosure. Mr. Southard on his return from the 
Springs, brought home with him high spirits and good health, 
and communicated to me all interesting occurrences on his jour- 
ney. The result of the Kentucky elections, though in seme 
respects to be regretted, ought not to be regarded in the dis- 
couraging light in which it is. It should be recollected that 
they took place before Mr. Buchanan's statement reached the 
State, and before the extensive circulation of the speech which 
you and Mr. S. too highly extolled. Many local and other causes 
had also an inauspicious effect, which it is believed will not 

crate in future. Notwithstanding all circumstances the Legis- 
lature, in both of its branches, is decidedly friendly to the Ad- 
ministration, and of those who actually voted for members of 
Congress, there is a considerable majority for Mr. Adams. This 
happened by the Jackson members being elected, in several in- 
stances by small majorities, and the Adams, either without com- 
petition, or by large majorities. My letters speak with good 
confidence on the final vote of the State. Mr. Letcher writes 
that his confidence is greater now than ever. 

As to Mr. Ritchie's boastful statement, that is all a ruse de 
guerre. My belief is that Mr. Adams will be re-elected and 
with case. 1 speak oi' course with all the diffidence which one 



OF HENBT ("LAV. 170 

ought to feci when expressing himself on such a subject. It is 
a part of the system of the friends of General Jackson to make 
demonstrations — speak boldly — claim every body and every 
State, and cany the election by storm. The circumstanc 
to bi cated is that this system lias too much success in dis- 

piriting om friends. You ask my opinion as to the project of a 
convention in Virginia to nominate, in January next, electors 
for Mr. Adams. It appears to me to be an excellent project, and 
one that can not fail to have good effect, even if it should not 
succeed. It will take by its novelty, and it will command re- 
spect by its fairness. 

There is a great portion (I believe a majority) of the popula- 
tion of Virginia opposed to the domination of the Richmond 
party. That majority is kept down by the principle of repre- 
sentation, according to territorial division, instead of population. 
The election of electors is the only election in Virginia in which 
that principle does not prevail, and in which the decision is ac- 
cording to numbers, without regard to counties. There is reason 
to believe that the greatest strength of the Administration in 
Virginia is where there are the greatest numbers, and conse- 
quently it will be manifested in the vote for electors. This is, 
or will be known, and the desire of pulling down the Rich- 
mond influence will stimulate many to the greatest exertion, and 
may operate, in numerous instances, to induce men to dis 
their preference for General Jackson, in order to defeat the party 
of the metropolis. In every view of the matter I think it of the 
first importance to push the plan. You are to have the first 
meeting, I understand, at Fredericksburg. There should he 
great exertion to make it respectable. So matters strike me. I 
thank you for the opportunity of perusing my letter of 4th 
February, 1825. I think its publication would have good effect. 
Perhaps it had better be deferred a little while. You could lake 
it with you to Richmond ; show it to Pleasants, and he could, 
at a proper time, publish it by your permission. When published, 
it ought to he accompanied with the explanation of the first 
paragraph ; that my letter to you of the 28th January. 1825 (the 
letter referred to in that paragraph) had found its way into the 
"Enquirer" where it was not correctly represented, owing, no 
doubt, to the erroneous information of its contents received by 
the editor ; that you wrote to me expressing regret that it had 
been the subject of newspaper animadversion, and hence my 



180 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

letter of the 4th February. I return the letter, having retained 
a copy. Are you coming here, as Southard (now absent) told 
me was possible ? or are you going shortly from home ? If you 
come, pray come at once to my house, where there is always a 
bed for you. I have been a little indisposed ; and I have some 
thoughts of an excursion of a week or ten days, to get out of 
the dust of the office and the smoke of the city. I know not 
whether I shall be able to get off; but if I do, I have a thought 
of a little tour, first to Harper's Ferry, and then round by Mr. 
Monroe's, and probably to your house. I beg you not to men- 
tion my visit in this respect — first, because I do not know that I 
can execute it ; and second, if I should, I desire to go as much 
incog, as possible. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagrange, October 10, 1827. 

My dear Sir, — Having accidentally missed the last opportunity 
to answer your most valued favor, August 10th, I avail myself 
of the next packet to offer my aifectionate thanks, and request, 
as much as the pressure of business allows it, the very high grati- 
fication of your correspondence. 

Your diplomatic accounts from Europe have little to say, and 
although a member of that House, by courtesy, called Represent- 
ative, I am not the wiser, nor shall I be the more useful for it. 
A dissolution of the House is much spoken of. The ministry are 
recording the new electoral lists, in consequence of a late bill 
mingling the vote of election with the duties of- juror, to which, 
however, some additions have been made. As the public mind 
is progressing, and several willful errors have been forcibly rec- 
tified, a liberal opposition can not fail to be more numerous. The 
question with Government is, whether they will this year meet 
a larger minority, with a seven years' new lease, or hereafter risk 
to have a majority against them, or at least a stronger opposition 
than that to which, in case of dissolution, they must now submit. 

The account of the funeral of Manuel having been indicted 
before an inferior tribunal, and our speeches on his tomb making 
a part of the impeachment of the publishers, it became the duty 
of Messrs. Lafitle, Dechiness, and myself, to claim our share in 
the trial, which we could not obtain. But a judgment of the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 1M 

court, very properly and liberally worded, has acquitted the se- 
lected objects of the accusation. An appeal from that decision 
to the Superior Court, has, it is said, taken place. 

The intervention of three great powers in th<' affairs of Greece 
seems to promise a respite, although it has not prevented the ar- 
rival of an Egyptian fleet, and a body of soldiers. There is, 
however, some good in the notifications made by the French 
and English admirals, impeding further progress. The mediation 
has been accepted by the Greeks. The Ottoman Porte hitherto 
refuses it. So far they oblige the mediators to commit them- 
selves a little more, and, if they are sincere, the Porte must yield 
at last. It is obvious to every looker-on that those powers are 
jealous of liberty, of complete emancipation, and jealous of each 
other. If any body can play the difficult game, it must be Capo- 
distria, who is now on his third station, that of Paris, before he 
proceeds to the Presidential chair. He unites in his person an 
exclusive coincidence of happy circumstances. After he has 
managed those discordant elements, there will be other discord- 
ances to be managed at home, for which he also seems to be the 
proper and exclusive man. Upon the whole, the existence of 
Greece is rather more secure than it has been of late. 

I have received a letter from our friend Poinsett, and can not 
but observe with. him the general and especial attempts that have 
been lately directed against the peace, harmony, and institutions 
of the Republican States of South America and Mexico. It is 
very natural to see the Republican minister of North America a 
butt to those monarchical and aristocratical factions. That the 
impression is given from Europe is not, I think, to be questioned. 
But I have received with deep regret the part of your letter al- 
luding to a man whose glory, great talents, and hitherto expe- 
rienced patriotism I have delighted to cherish. Several painful 
informations had reached me. which, all together, and many 
more beside, could not weigh so much with me as your own 
sense of the matter. I beg you to continue to write on the sub- 
ject, and on every matter relative to public concerns, to my 
friends, and particularly to yourself, who know my old, grateful, 
and sincere affection. 

Blessed as I have lately been with the welcome, and conscious, 
as it is my happy lot to he, of the affection and confidence ol all 
parties, and all men in every party within the United States, 
feelings which I most cordially reciprocate, I ever have thought 



182 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

myself bound to avoid taking any part in local or personal divis- 
ions. Indeed, if I thought that, in these matters, my influence 
could be of any avail, it should be solely exerted to deprecate, 
not, by far, the free, Republican, and full discussion of principles 
and candidates ; but those invidious slanders which, although 
they are happily repelled by the good sense, the candor, and, in 
domestic instances, by the delicacy of the American people, tend 
to give abroad incorrect and disparaging impressions. Yet that 
line of conduct, from which I must not deviate, except in immi- 
nent cases now out of the question, does not imply a forgetf ill- 
ness of facts, nor a refusal to state them occasionally. My re- 
membrance concurs with your own on this point, that in the 
latter end of December, either before or after my visit to 
Annapolis, you being out of the Presidential candidature, and, 
after having expressed my above-mentioned motives of forbear- 
ance, I, by way of a confidential exception, allowed myself to 
put a simple unqualified question respecting your electioneering 
guests, and your intended vote. Your answer was, that in your 
opinion, the actual state of the health of Mr. Crawford had lim- 
ited the contest to a choice between Mr. Adams and General 
Jackson, that a claim founded on military achievements did not 
meet your preference, and that you had concluded to vote for 
Mr. Adams. Such was, if not the literal wording, at least 
the precise sense of a conversation which it would have been in- 
consistent for me to carry further and not to keep a secret, while 
a recollection of it, to assist your memory, I should not now deny, 
either to you, as my friend, or to any man in a similar situa- 
tion. 

Present my affectionate respects to Mrs. Clay. Remember me 
to all your family, and to our friends in Washington. I will 
write by the same packet to the President. 



TO MR. CLAY. 



[The following proposal to Mr. Clay, from the State of New 
York, dated October 22, 1S27, over a signature which we think 
proper to suppress, is indorsed in Mr. Clay's hand as follows: 
" I was shocked by the proposal in this letter, and need not say, 
thai it was impossihle to comply with it."] 



OF HENRY CLAY. 183 

What I would now beg leave to suggest for your consideration 
is, the propriety of addressing me a letter <>ii that subject, of the 
date of November, 1824, about the time we met to choose "lec- 
tors, and after your return to Washington. It might be so word- 
ed as to be in answer to my inquiries od that head, which, with 
your liberty, I would publish. It would be a knock-down argu- 
ment against your bitter enemies. It is at you the fatal blow i> 
aimed, and not Mr. Adams; if they succeed against you, th< y 
well know that Adams will inevitably fall with you. He would 
become an easy prey, and could not stand a moment. 

I trust you will not be offended at my suggestion, whether 
you approve or disapprove of it, when I assure you that I am 
actuated through motives of friendship — a friendship, sir, that 
can not easily be shaken. Should you think proper to make 
the communication, it shall be sacred. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Wa-iiingtox, November 24, 1S27. 

Mt dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 20th inst., 
and most truly do I participate in the wish which it expresses, 
that it was practicable for us to have a personal interview. 

On the affair of the V. P., it was understood at the last ses- 
sion, that at the one now near at hand the friends of the Admin- 
istration should bring together and compare the public opinion 
prevailing in the respective quarters of the country, as to the 
proper individual to be selected, and that measures should then 
be adopted to give effect to it. As for myself, I have no wish 
one way or the other about it, so far as I am personally con- 
cerned. 

On the subject touched in your letter — the propriety of an ad- 
dress from the Convention about to assemble at Richmond — I 
concur with you entirely as to its expediency. The occasion 
calls for it. It will be expected from the enlightened men th- re 
assembled. And the public will be disappointed if it be not 
able, patriotic, and striking. There are so many members of the 
Convention more competent than I am to suggest what should 
be its character and its contents, that I will only barely take the 
liberty of hinting, that it should make a peaceful appeal to the 



184 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

uniform devotion of Virginia to the cause of human liberty, and 
to the providing of all possible guarantees of its preservation. 

Then I should think you might awaken the magnanimity of 
Virginia. She has had four Presidents ; the North but two. 

Is it not her true interest to evince that she is not actuated 
by selfish ambition? 

The influence of Virginia can only be preserved in this Union 
by numbers or by moral power. The first she has not. The 
last she has ; and what augmentation of it would she not pro- 
duce, by making the present generation feel, and posterity own, 
that she had thrown herself into the military crevasse which is 
letting in a fatal current, threatening to sweep all before ^it ? 
Should the election of Mr. Adams be secured by the aid of Vir- 
ginia, to her weight distinctly would it be attributed. She 
would then be the primary power. 

These hints are respectfully suggested. They might be 
much extended ; but I have neither time to enlarge them, or to 
throw them into the form of a regular composition. I am ac- 
quainted with Mr. Semple. He is ardent in the cause, but 
thinks that he can aid more effectually by indirect than direct 
exertion. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Washington, November 26, 1827. 
Dear Sir, — Shortly after my arrival in this city in the fall 
of 1824, to attend Congress, and before the commencement of 
the session, I conversed with you freely on the subject of the 
Presidential election more than once. I think one of these con- 
versations was after I had seen Mr. Crawford, on whom I called 
the next day after that on which I reached the city. In the 
course of these conversations I fully expressed to you my views 
and opinions as to Mr. Adams, Mr. Crawford, and General Jack- 
son, and stated for which of them I should vote, if I was called 
upon to decide between them. I shall be greatly obliged if you 
would state, in writing, the purport of these conversations, or of 
any other which I had with you in November or December, 
1824, in reference to the Presidential election. It is proper to 
apprise you that I may make a public use of the statement* 

* Tii.- answer to this note not being found, was probably publish*!? j*s >ntimated 
■t might be. 



OF IIENRY OLAT. 185 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, November 20, 1S27. 

My dear Sir, — I have to thank you for Mr. Giles' book, and 
him for writing it. I care not how widely he diffuses my 
Tariff speech. I believe its principles will stand the test of 
the severest scrutiny. I hope, however, that General Taylor 
will now publish his speech. I understood from him that he 
had come under some promise to do so. 

The two parties are beginning to assemble in great numbers, 
and we shall, doubtless, have a full house on the election of a 
Speaker. The contest will be close, and if luck did not seem 
to be running somewhat against us at this particular period, I 
should say Mr. Taylor will be chosen. 

The rumor of the day is that Chilton is elected in Kentucky 
by twenty- seven votes. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 6, 182V. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 2d instant. , Mr. 
Sergeant informed me that he would, in answer to a letter from 
Mr. Call, put your Committee in correspondence with the con- 
templated convention at Harrisburg, etc. General P. B. Porter, 
who, as a member of the Legislature, will be at Albany from the 
first of next month to some time in April, and will be a very 
suitable person to correspond with. I will obtain some other 
names hereafter. 

We were beaten in the Speaker's election. The truth is, that 
Mr. Taylor was heavy to carry, and the burden could not be 
well thrown off. Had some person been run on our side free 
from the objections applicable to him, the difference would not 
have been greater than two or three votes, but would still, per- 
haps, have been against us. Now that the Opposition have ob- 
tained the Speaker, I suspect that both he and they are greatly 
embarrassed as to the use which ought to be made of their tri- 
umph. If an opposition complexion is given to the committees, 
they assume all the responsibility of public measures. It* another 
character is stamped upon them, it will be a virtual admission 
that no change of measures is desirable. 



* 



186 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

If any allusion is made in the public prints to Mr. Johnston's 
favorable opinion of the Panama mission, I hope the fact will be 
put on incontestable ground. 



MR. RUSH TO MR. CLAY. 

December 18, 1827. 

My dear Mr. Clay, — Your invitation and Mrs. Clay's to your 
winter evenings, got to my hands this morning, and I have 
passed it to my wife's. She will be most happy to be with 
you, as often as in her power. Fpr myself, I am a slave, a very 
slave, the charter of whose present existence cuts him off from 
all and every such indulgence, even though tendered by " Your 
Excellence," as Kit Hughes would say. In truth, I am so galled, 
so whipped up, so ground down, morning, noon, and night, and 
night, noon, and morning, by being head overseer, and journey- 
man too, of the octogenarian department, that I was forced to 
make a vow and covenant on the first day of the session, not to 
break bread out of my own house (and miserable brown stuff 
it is that I break there just now), by day or by night till the 
session is over, if it lasts till doomsday, and we know that it is 
to last almost as long. This is a hard fate to undergo, and for 
one who likes good cheer, and has always been accustomed to 
it, moderately at least ; yet it is to be my fate without mitiga- 
tion, unless perchance I should ever break its bonds by darken- 
ing the threshhold, once in awhile, of " our worthy little mas- 
ter" over the way. As to our most potent sovereign lords and 
masters upon the hill, they would scourge me to death, you 
know, or flay me alive, if I do not mind their business ; so the 
only way in which I, or mortal man like me, can compass that, 
and mind all the other treasury business to boot, big and little, 
which never stops (including a daily quantum of the most hor- 
rible parts which I never should have had to mind if our said 
lords and masters had deigned to grant me the humble boon I 
once asked of a little more clerical aid at the desks of my super- 
annuated beureaus), is by digging and fagging by night as well 
as by day. This is the long and short of the story. By lead- 
ing this anti-social life — hard penance as it is — I shall hope to 
flounder through the session without being impeached; and if 
God spares me till it is over, as good Christians should say, 1 



OF HENRY CLAY. 187 

will resume good fellowship with you and others ouce more I 
trust. But, till then, farewell to evening parties all, farewell to 
dinners; farewell to such dinners, even, as yours, to which, when 
bidden, I have never heretofore said nay — to all, farewell. 
Othello's occupation's gone ! 

I have forced an answer upon you, and a long-winded one — 
though the requisition is scratched out from your kind billet. 



CHAPTER V. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1828. 

CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, January 5, 1828. 

Dear Sir, — I thank you for the copy of your address on the 
charges made against you respecting the election of President, 
which I have read with the more pleasure because it combines 
a body of testimony much stronger than I had supposed possible, 
which must I think silence even those who wish the charge to 
be believed. 

With sincere wishes for the improvement of your health, and 
with real esteem I am, dear sir, yours, etc. 



JAMES MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Mqtpellei:, January 6, 1828. 

Dear Sir, — I have duly received the copy of your address 
politely forwarded to me. Although I have taken no part in the 
depending contests, and have been led to place myself publicly 
on that ground, I could not peruse the appeal you have made 
without being sensible of the weight of testimony it exhibits, 
and of the eloquence by which it is distinguished. 

Having occasion to write to Mr. Brougham [since Lord 
Brougham] on a subject which interests our University, I take 
the liberty of asking your friendly attention to the letter which 
I inclose. I hope it may find an early conveyance from the De- 
partment of State, with dispatches about to be destined for Lon- 
don. Should this not be the case Mr. Brent will save you the 
trouble of giving the intimation, that a duplicate may seek some 
other channel. It is desirable that the letter should reach Mr. 
Brougham with as little delay as may be. 



OF HENRY CLAY. I s '.' 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOK K. 

Washington, January 15, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I am sorry to learn that you are indisposed 
and suffering much pain from a swelled knee; but I hope you 
will soon get over it. 

1 congratulate you on the proceedings of your Convention. I 
was particularly gratified that you were made its President. I 
hear the most flattering accounts of the address to the people 
which the Convention has adopted. Although I am eager to see 
it, I have not yet had an opportunity of perusing it. But I am 
prepared, in advance, to make my grateful acknowledgments for 
the friendly notice which is taken of me. I am rendered quite 
happy by the kind feelings which have been cotemporaneously 
expressed toward me by my native and adopted State. 

The address of the Convention in the latter, I send you here- 
with, and after you have done with it I will thank you to hand it 
over to Pleasants, who may possibly think proper to publish it, 
or parts of it, in " The Whig." All, I hope and believe, will yet 
go well. The new year has been characterized by many cheer- 
ing incidents. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 18, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I have duly received your favor of the 14th 
instant, prior to which I addressed a short letter to you at Rich- 
mond. 

The proceedings of your Convention have been seen here 
with the greatest satisfaction. They are all marked by wisdom 
and discretion. The address is admired by every body, and 
fully realizes the high expectation which we formed when it was 
understood who was to compose it. 

The duty assigned you as to the communication to Messrs. 
Madison and Monroe, is very delicate ; but it appears to me that, 
by giving them beforehand sufficient notice of your intention 
hereafter to make an official communication to them, you have 
adopted the most prudent course. I am apprehensive that they 
will decline, which I should very much regret. If they do, it 
will be very desirable that it should not be done in such manner 
as to injure our cause. 



L90 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Our news from the West is very cheering. Ohio is beyond 
all doubt safe. So is Indiana, and I think Illinois. Our friends 
in Kentucky are very confident of success, as is exhibited by a 
proposition in the Legislature, proceeding from them, for a gen- 
eral ticket. It was not decided when I last heard from Frank- 
fort. 

Southard has just returned from Annapolis. I have not yet 
seen him. 



MR. V AUG HAN TO MR. CLAY. 

W ishtngton, January 19, 1828. 
My dear Sir, — I thank you for your loan of the message of 
the Governor of Maine, and as I am still disappointed of being 
able to procure a copy of it through the newspapers, I take the 
liberty of asking your permission to keep your copy. If you 
can not conveniently allow me to do so, I will return it imme- 
diately. 



JAMES BARBOUR TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, January 27, 1828. 
Dear Sir, — I regret much as an apparent evidence of neglect 
the non-arrival of my letter to you and Colonel Mercer, in time. 
I intentionally delayed writing till the last moment, under a high 
hope of giving you some determinate information of the person 
best to present for the Vice-Presidency ; but it was still in time 
for the period proposed by Colonel Mercer for his departure. 
Your own just views made the accident of no consequence. 
Here and every where your proceedings have been most favora- 
bly received. You did nobly. If Virginia is not mad beyond 
cure, she will yet be saved. We arc in high expectations of 
Pennsylvania. Sergeant speaks with great confidence. In fine 
our prospects are evidently brightening. We are looking with 
intense curiosity as to Madison's course. The Opposition are in 
difficulty with their resolution of inquiry as to abuses — the 
friends of the Administration challenge them to proceed. If 
they recede they will be obliged to admit that the slanders of 
profligacy are groundless. If they proceed they will find the 
most economical Administration of tlie public affairs since the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 191 

establishment of the Government. is a man just from 

the woods, and his resolution was for mere home consumption. 
One of his political associates warned the house, that young 
doctors always killed their patients. That the parties were too 
equal to admit of experiments — and he should not be surprised 

if by this tampering killed them. Let me hear from you 

occasionally. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 2, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I am sorry to learn by your letter of the 31st 
ultimo, that you have continued to be afflicted with the com- 
plaint in your knee, but as you proposed going to Richmond 
(where I address you), I hope you have by this time recovered 
from it. 

Our late information from Albany is highly encouraging. 
The partisans of Clinton and V. B. are beginning already to 
display their suspicion and jealousy of each other ; and my cor- 
respondents assure me that there is very little prospect of a union 
between them to nominate a P. and V. P. In the mean time, it is 
stated that a powerful reaction has taken place throughout tne 
State. 

I shall be glad to have the earliest information of the deci- 
sion of Messrs. Madison and Monroe, as to their names continu- 
ing on the electoral ticket. 

Should you be able to execute your intention of visiting this 
city, I pray you to come at once to my house, where we have 
plenty of room for such accommodations as we shall take pleas- 
ure in affording you. It would add to Mrs. Clay's gratification 
and my own, if you would bring Mrs. Brooke with you. 



MR. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

Wood Lawn, February 4, 18 
My dear Sir, — Inclosed is a letter for Mr. Poinsett, our 
minister in Mexico, which I will thank you to forward to Mr. 
Poinsett, with as little delay as is consistent with your conw- 
nieuce. The object of the letter is to obtain from him some of 
the productions of Mexico, which will probably succeed in the 



192 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Southern and Western States. Perhaps an intimation from the 
Secretary of State on this subject may he productive of good 
effects. 

I hope you know me too well to suppose that I have counte- 
nanced the charge of corruption which has been reiterated 
against you. The truth is, I approved of your vote for Mr. 
Adams, when it was given ; and should have voted as you did, 
between Jackson and Adams. But candor compels me to say, 
that I disapproved of your accepting an office from him. You 
ought, I think, to have foreseen that his administration could 
hardly fail to be unpopular. Those who knew his temper, dis- 
position, and political opinions, entertained no doubt upon the 
subject. By accepting the office of Secretary of State from 
him, you have indisputably connected your fortunes with his. 
And it appears to me that he is destined to fall as his father did, 
and you must fall with him. This State could not have been 
driven under the banners of Jackson by any other course of 
measures than that pursued by the Administration toward it. Mr. 
Adams' general measures, although very exceptionable, would 
not have ranged the State under Jackson's standard. Mr. 
Adams has professed to consider the Federal Government lim- 
ited by the enumerated powers. Yet he has recommended to 
Congress to erect light-houses to the skies — a recommendation 
utterly inconsistent with the idea of the Government being 
limited by the enumerated powers. This recommendation, it 
appears to me, can be supported by no other construction than 
that Congress can do any thing which is not expressly forbidden 
by the Constitution. The whole of his first message to Con- 
gress is replete with doctrines which I hold to be unconstitu- 
tional. 

Present my respects to Mrs. Clay, and accept the same your- 
self. 



MR. CLAY TO MR. CRAWFORD. 

Washington, February 18, 1828. 
My dear Sir, — I received your letter of the 4th instant, and 
I will take pleasure in having forwarded the letter which it in- 
closed, to Mr. Poinsett, with the first public dispatches. I should 
not hesitate to intimate to him my wish that he would comply 
with your request for the Mexican seeds, etc., if I were not per- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 10.1 

suaded that it would be altogether unnecessary for me to second 
any expression of your desire to him. Our country needs much 
the multiplication of the products of the earth, as well ns of in- 
dustry otherwise applied, and lie deserves well of it. who will 
introduce a new. or more successfully cultivate .-hi old article of 
agriculture. 

I do, my dear sir, know you too well to suppose that you eve: 
countenanced the charge of corruption against me. No man of 
sense and candor — at least none that know me — ever could, or 
did countenance it. Your frank admission that you would have 
voted as I did, between Mr. Adams and General Jackson, accords 
with the estimate I have always made of your intelligence, your 
independence, and your patriotism. Nor am I at all surprised or 
dissatisfied with the expression of your opinion that I erred in 
accepting the place which I now hold. When two courses pre- 
sent themselves in human affairs, and one only is pursued, expe- 
rience develops the errors of the selection which has been made. 
Those which would have attended the adoption of the opposite 
course, can only be matter of speculation. Thus it is in the 
case referred to. We see, or think we see, distinctly, the errors 
*»f the alternative which I embraced. But are we sure that, if I 
had chosen the other, I should not have been liable to greater 
hazard, or more animadversion? The truth is (as I have often 
said), my condition was one full of embarrassments, whatever 
way I might act. My own judgment was rather opposed to my 
acceptance of the Department of State, but my friends, and let 
me add, two of your best friends (Mr. McLane, of Delaware. 
and Mr. Forsyth), urged me strongly not to decline it. It was 
represented by my friends that I would get no credit for the for- 
bearance, but that, on the contrary, it would be said that that 
very forbearance was evidence of my having made a bargain, 
though unwilling to execute it. The office, they thought, was 
an office of the nation, not of the actual Presidential incumbent, 
and I was bound to look to the good of the country, and not to 
regard any personal objections which I had to him. Can you, 
who have contributed, said they, to the election of Mi. Adams. 
decline the Department of State ? AVill you not be charged if 
you do, with having co-operated in the election of a man. of 
whom you think so ill, that you will not serve in one of the 
highest places in the public councils with him ? Even if he 
should lie wanting in any of the requisite qualifications for the 



194 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

station to which he has been elevated, yon are the more bound 
for that very reason to accept, in order to endeavor to guard the 
country against any danger from his mal-administration. Your 
enemies have sought by previous denunciation to frighten you. 
They do not believe that you have acted otherwise than from 
motives of the purest patriotism : but they wish to alarm you, 
and prevent you from entering the Department of State. 

These, and other similar arguments were pressed on me, and 
after a week's deliberation, I yielded to their force. It is quite 
possible that I may have erred, and you may be. right in predict- 
ing, as a consequence of my decision, that, being identified with 
Mr. Adams' administration, if he falls, I also shall fall. Should 
such be my fate, I shall submit to it, I hope, with the fortitude 
of a philosopher, if not with the resignation of a Christian. I 
shall at least have no cause of self-reproach, for I will undertake 
to affirm (and I appeal with confidence to Him who knows 
best the human heart, for the truth of the affirmation) that, 
throughout my public life, in the many trying situations in which 
I have been placed. I have been guided exclusively by the con- 
sideration of the good of my country. You say that I ought to 
have foreseen that Mr. Adams' administration could hardly fail 
to be unpopular. I certainly did not foresee that the tree would 
be judged of, otherwise than by its fruits. But the popularity 
of a particular course or proceeding (although I will not pretend 
that I have been altogether regardless of it), has not been the 
deciding motive with me of my public conduct. Is the measure 
right ? Will it conduce to the general happiness, and the eleva- 
tion of the national character ? These have been always my 
first and most anxious inquiries. 

I had fears of Mr. Adams' temper and disposition, but I must 
say that they have not been realized, and I have found in 
him, since I have been associated with him in the Executive 
Government, as little to censure or condemn as I could have 
expected in any man. Truth compels me to say that I have 
heartily approved of the leading measures of his administration, 
not excepting those which relate to Georgia. I. have not time, 
if I had ability, and it were necessary, to vindicate them. But, 
my dear sir, I must invoke your frankness and justice to recon- 
sider the only exceptionable measure which yon have specified, 
that of Ins recommendation of light-houses to the skies. It is 
not the metaphor, I presume, but the thing (an observatory), 



OF HENRY CLAY. 195 

which has provoked your censure. And can you justly censure 
Mr. Adams for a recommendation which utmost every previous 
President had made? If there be no power in the general Gov- 
ernment to authorize the erection of an observatory within the 
limits of a State, is there none to sanction its Location in this 
District? The message, I believe, was silent as to the place 
where it should be built. But I will dwell no longer on public 
affairs. I should not have touched the topic but for your friendly 
allusion to it. I turn from it with pleasure to the recollection of 
our amicable relations. Whatever you may have thought, or may 
have been sought to be infused into your mind, my friendly 
feelings toward you have never ceased ; and, although our corre- 
spondence has been interrupted four or five years, I have always 
entertained a lively solicitude for your welfare, and availed my- 
self of every opportunity to inquire particularly about your 
health and situation. I have heard with unaffected pleasure of 
the improvement of your health. That it may be perfectly re- 
established, and that you may be long spared for the benefit of 
your family, and the good of your country, is the sincere wish 
of your faithful friend and obedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 22, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of yesterday is received. General 
Porter had been ill and absent from Albany. He had returned, 
however, and I have a late letter from him. All accounts con- 
cur that the political effect of Mr. Clinton's death will be favor- 
able to the Administration ; and intelligence generally from that 
State, especially from the western portion of it, is very cheering. 

I really do not know (and who does?) what Mr. R. means 
by his allusion to my letter addressed to you. I do not think 
there is any necessity for you or myself saying any thing on that 
subject. As to a statement of a conversation which he represents 
himself to have held with me, he has been so contradictory in 
the House about it, that, although my first impression, when I 
heard of it, was to have authorized a counter-statement, my 
friends think it is not worthy of such a notice. If I take any 
of it, 1 shall do it in some other way. and at a future day. 

I have a curious but friendly letter from Mr. Crawford, ill 



196 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

which he says he never countenanced the calumny against me ; 
that he would have voted, as I did, between Jackson and Adams, 
etc. I have answered it in the most friendly terms, combatting, 
however, some of his opinions. 

The inquiry in the Senate of Kentucky has terminated with 
the adoption of resolutions friendly to the Administration and 
myself. My friends there claim a decided and triumphant 
victory. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 27, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 25th instant is received. 
The House of Representatives of Kentucky having been limited 
to an adjournment on a fixed day, when the resolution came to 
it from the Senate, there was not time to act on them, and it 
adjourned without taking them up. My friends there think we 
have gained a great victory. It will possibly lead to some further 
publications that may render it more decisive. The general 
ticket has passed, so that the entire vote of Kentucky may, I 
think, be now anticipated. 

Mr. Crawford's letter to me has been seen by several of my 
friends, and has been spoken of, I understand, generally in this 
city. I should regret that the subject should get into the news- 
papers, but with that exception I do not know that I ought to 
object to its being mentioned. It is not confidential : and, in 
my opinion, does Mr. Crawford as much credit as it does me. 



FRANCIS BROOKE TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, February 28, L828. 

My dear Sir, — I have received answers to my circular from 
Mr. Madison and Mr. Monroe, which you will see in " The Whig" 
next week. They decline to accept the appointment, as was 
apprehended, though witli the expression of sentiments, if not 
perverted, rather flattering to the friends of the Administration. 
The fact is, that they have used an expression susceptible of 
construction mere favorable to G neral Jackson than was in- 
tended. They speak of the high estimation in which they hold 
both of the candidates, which may he interpreted now, and not 
then, as was intended. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 197 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washihgton, Marco 1, 1828. 
My dear Sir, — I was prepared to anticipate the declension, 

communicated in your letter of the 28th ultimo, of \1 rs. Mad- 
ison and Monroe, to stand on your electoral ticket I regret that 
then 1 should be any thing ambiguous in the terms which they 
have employed to express their refusal, though in that, also, I 
am not much disappointed. It will, for the moment, produce a 
bad effect, but I am persuaded that it will soon pass off. Our 
prospects are better, at this time, than they have been for many 
months. 

You will have seen the allusion made in Kentucky to a cor- 
respondence between Mr. Blair and myself,* and the defiance 
that has been thrown out as to my allowing the publication of it. 
I have a copy of the letter, on which reliance is placed. It is 
written in a style of playfulness, and friendly familiarity, which 
constitutes the only objection I could possibly have to its publi- 
cation. I shall let them go on making confident assertions in 
regard to its contents, and perhaps I may hereafter cause it to 
be published. With honorable men, it will do me good rather 
than harm. By the by, this is not a bad time to have the letter 
published which you did me the favor to submit to my inspec- 
tion, last fall. 

At present, we have no messenger to send abroad. We rarely 
employ one to go to France or England, on account of the great 
regularity of the packets. I will bear in mind your wish con- 
cerning your nephew, should an occasion arise to dispatch a 
messenger. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

W\-ni\-<;:,.N, March 10, 1828. 
My dear Sir, — I have received your favor of the 8th instant. 
If you do not, I do, feel the attacks mi you, because I fear that 
they are the effect of our loiri-standing friendship. Their ef- 
fect is less, it is true, consi<lrniiL r the quarter from which they 
proceed. Pleasants, of " The \\lii'_r."* has not the merit of first 
evincing a thorough knowledge of that being. Mr. . Mr. Jef- 
ferson long ago understood him, when he made an allusion to 
* For this correspondence see pp. 109, 111. 



198 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

the same physical defect. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves, in 
reflecting that such a thing should be capable of inflicting any pain. 

I wish my letter to you of February 4, 1825, could be drawn 
out; but how is that to be done? I have a copy of mine to 
Blair, mentioned by you, and although tbere is a playfulness, 
not to say levity, about it, which renders it, perhaps, unfit for 
the public eye, I do believe that good, rather than evil, would 
attend its publication. The difficulty, and the only difficulty, 
with me, is, whether I ought to lend my sanction to such a vio- 
lation of private intercourse, and whether, after yielding to it, 
there would not be other and further efforts and insinuations to 
deceive public credulity ? If I authorize its publication, I do 
not think the time has yet arrived when that ought to be done. 
I will, if I do not forget it, send you hereafter a copy of the letter. 

Since the publication of my address, I have received a large 
mass of additional evidence, to the same tenor. Some of it is 
as strong as, if not stronger than, any which is now before the 
public. Ought I to publish it? I am afraid, on the one hand, 
of teasing the public, and on the other, of omitting any thing 
that is due to the occasion. 

You are assailed for the first time seriously. May. I take the 
liberty of suggesting that you should not allow this wanton at- 
tack to affect you, in the smallest degree ? Above all,-you should 
not permit yourself to use one expression, or to perform any act 
hastily. An unsullied character of more than threescore years 
duration, can surely successfully withstand the imbecile assaults 
of a miserable creature. 

I will send you a copy of the report of the committee respect- 
ing the six militia men. 

I am sorry for Leigh, quite as much on his as on public ac- 
count. The gratification of private antipathy will never be al- 
lowed, before God or man, a a sufficient motive for the neglect 

of patriotic duty. Unless he fears R more even than he 

hates Mr. , the world and his own conscience will both 

condemn him. 

Our accounts arc truly encouraging. From New York the 
current of fi vorable intelligence is steady, unchecked, and such 
as to justify a confidi nt anticipation of our success The Ken- 
tucky prospects, too. arc good ; and if, as I believe, we shall suc- 
ceed there, we shall owe our good fortune, in no small degree, 
to our Virginia friends. 



OF HERB.? CLAY. 199 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 21, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 20th instant. I 
had previously seen in the Whig my letter to you of the 4th of 
February, 1825. It is believed here that its publication will do 
good. 

I am glad that you do not allow yourself to be affected by the 

calumnies of Mr. . Here, I assure you, they do you no ) re- 

judicc, and create no other than a feeling of detestation toward 
the author. u The Whig" has found out his sensitive part, and if 
man ever forfeited all claim to commisseration,on account of a 
physical misfortune, and justified the allusion to it by the wan- 
ton and unprovoked attacks which he makes upon others, Mr. 
is that man. 

I hope you will not fail to visit us in April. I think you 
would pass a week or two here very agreeably, and you are so 
near home that half a day will at any time take you there. 
Southard and Taliaferro are my next door neighbors, so that at 
my house you would be in the midst of your friends. 

The general aspect of our political news continues good, es- 
pecially from Kentucky and New York. 



REV. ISAAC BARD TO MR. CLAY. 

Gkeknvilll, Kentucky. March 27, 1828. 

Dear Sir, — I know you will not think it strange if an un- 
known friend should address a letter to you. Have you nol 
given yourself to your beloved country, devoted yourself to her 
cause, and may not the citizen claim you as his properly and 
inheritance ? If so, why should an humble citizen be shy and 
stand aloof from him whom lie has long loved and admired ? 

Will you be so kind as to indulge me in some desultory re 
marks? When I was pursuing my education in Lexington, I 
first heard you deliver an oration at the laying of the corner- 
stone of the Hospital. As a student and a boy I was much 
pleased. Once on Poplar Row, on the pavement, I n. t you and 
there were none else on the whole street, and you spoke to me 
so politely and friendly, it, though a little thing, made no small 
impression. The next time I saw you was when I was on at 



200 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

College and the Divinity School, yon passed through Princeton, 
sitting by the driver on an outside seat of the stage, spoke to Mr. 
Wm. Warfield, who was with me coming up street. To say the 
least, the way you spoke to him (an acquaintance) impressed me 
that you. in no ordinary degree, were a man of friendly feeling, 
of openness and urbanity of manners, 

l>ut it is not merely the pleasing qualifications and attractions 
of private character, your eloquence and ratiocination, the boon 
of God, but your political course, and those important national 
principles of internal improvement, smiling on rising Republics, 
that enhance you in the approbation and give you such a scope 
in the affections of your fellow citizens. You have already es- 
tablished an imperishable reputation. A wreath of evergreens 
encircles your brow, and will entwine around your name while 
time shall last. Your reputation, the storms of persecution have 
tried to carry away ; but it is built on a basis that moldering 
ages can not waste. Ethiopia will remember your colonization 
efforts. South America and Greece will couple your name with 
liberty and independence. Your Tariff speech of 1S21 has 
opened the eyes of the American people, and they will not forget 
you. Roads, and canals, and manufactures, in fine, the Ameri- 
can system, will hail you as then founder and father. Sir, if I 
understand flattery it is stating what is false ; but I believe I am 
telling the truth. Truth that is already written in American 
history — written in the hearts and affections of the American 
people, more indellible than letters engraven on adamant. 

For many years I have read with pleasure your speeches and 
observed your public course. I have witnessed with heart-burn- 
ing and disgust the vituperation and slander of ambitions, wicked 
men. In private conversation I have often pleaded your cause, 
and that of the President, and of your policy. I approve 
heartily of your course. When my friend told me that Mr. 
Adams was President, and you had voted for him, a sudden exult- 
ation of joy flashed through my bosom. 

We (of Greenville) had a large number of your defenses 
printed at Russelville, and I have spread them from my store far 
and wide (for I am a merchant and Presbyterian preacher). Be 
assured they are operating powerfully. It is the best antidote 
against lying and slander that has ever been used. .Many of the 
Jackson men of this county (Muhlenberg) have turned complete- 
ly around. We are decidedly Administration here, by a very 



OF HENRY CLAY. 201 

large majority. I hope you and Mr. Adams will not be discour- 
aged, but keep up good spirits. 

In writing you this letter I mean no more than an expression 
of my friendship for you, my country, the prosperity of the 
nation, and the welfare of civil and religious liberty. I am in 
the habit of praying for you in secret and in public. If I have 
any interest at the court of Heaven, I have tried to make it for 
you. Think ; they did n't say, at Hopkinsville, they knew I was 
an Administration man from my prayer, as I prayed for the 
President, etc. But it is not a cause I am ashamed or afraid of; 
for if even "Old Hickory" should be elected, we will not give 
up you. You must come next. You are consecrated to your 
country and you are ours. 

Penuit me to say, I have named my first-born son Henry Clay 
Bard. I did it for two reasons : 1. As a mark of affection and 
friendship for you ; 2. That your character might stimulate him 
to worthy deeds. 

"Will you be so good as to give my respects to Mrs. Clay. Will 
you be so good as to give my respects to the President, Mr. 
Adams. Tell him I pray for him and his Cabinet. May God 
bless Mr. Clay. May God bless the President. May God guide 
and direct him and his counselors. May you all fear God, pray 
to him, keep his '•'commandments that it may be well with you." 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 20, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I was much disappointed in not having the 
pleasure of seeing you. Having understood from Mr. Maury that 
you would certainly be here on a particular day, I even made 
arrangements to get some friends to meet you at dinner. 

I transmitted to Mr. Call copies of my letter to Mr. Blair, 
which have formed the subject of newspaper animadversions, and 
requested him to send them to some friends in Richmond. I 
will thank you, also, to look at them. 

I send herewith copies of Mr. Crawford's last letter to me. and 
my answer, which, after having perused them yourself, vou will 
be pleased to exhibit confidentially to such of the gentlemen 
who saw Mr. Blair's letters as you may think proper. 

Our news from Kentucky is very good. 



202 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

"Washington, May 18, 1828. 

M\ dear Sir, — Your two favors of the 4th and Gth instant, 
reached this place during my absence on a trip to Philadelphia 
for the purpose of obtaining medical advice, which I am happy 
to inform you was favorable. 

I can not object to Mr. Tresslitt's speaking of the contents of 
the letter which you showed him, though I do not desire at 
present that they should be published. 

I will endeavor to procure and forward the documents you re- 
quest. 

I regretted much that the considerations to which the Presi- 
dent felt himself bound to yield, did not seem to him to admit 

of the appointment of our friend T . New York has not, in 

the person of any citizen of that State, a single representative at 
this place, in any one of the high executive offices. Judge Sav- 
age is a man of undoubted qualifications, and standing high in 
the esteem of the people in that State. Under these views, the 
President thought he ought to be appointed, and his appointment 
has given very great satisfaction. 



BFR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

"Washington, May 28, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I sent the documents to you by mail requested 
in your favor of the 20th instant. My intention is to leave this 
place in about a fortnight on my contemplated journey, which I 
propose taking through the valley of Virginia, by the White Sul- 
phur Springs, and thence by the Crab Orchard to Kentucky. I 
shall not return to the city until late in July, or early in August. 
If I do not then find myself entirely re-established, I will go to 
some of the sea baths. 

The last appointments of the President have given general 
satisfaction, as far as I have heard. I do not think that a better 
arrangement could have been made. We shall lose no strength 
in the Cabinet by the introduction of Porter. 

Our information from Kentucky continues to be very encour- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 203 

aging. We must be greatly deceived if Metcalfe should not "be 
elected by a respectable majority. 

I hope you were pleased with the address of our friends in 
Congress to the people, on the prospects of the election. 



MB. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

"Washington-, June 5, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of 2d instant. My 
health remains pretty much in stdfu quo. I do not anticipate 
any considerable improvement of it until I commence my journey, 
which I propose doing about the 15th instant. I shall go through 
Virginia, but by what route I have not yet positively decided. 
I think I shall go to the mountains by the shortest. 

I have prepared a letter to the Central Administration Com- 
mittee of Kentucky, in answer to one received from it on the 
subject of Amos Kendall, and his correspondence with me. I 
think some letters from, him which I have authorized to be pub- 
lished, will fully establish his infamy. 

I am not preparing, nor shall I prepare, any answer to the ad- 
dress of the Jackson Central Committee of this place. My opin- 
ion is, that it is unworthy of notice from me. But I shall prob- 
ably publish, by way of supplement to my former address, a mass 
of testimony which has since accumulated on my hands, and I 
may publish it without comment. I have also addressed a letter 
to Kentucky to a friend (which he is authorized to publish), re- 
specting my private afFairs, which will relieve my friends from 
any anxiety on that account. 

Judge Savage declined the office of Treasurer, and it has been 
given to General Clarke, late Treasurer of Pennsylvania, who 
was turned out by the Jackson party last winter, because he is a 
friend to the Administration. There is some reason to hope that 
circumstances will hereafter admit of something being done for 
your friend. 

I regret that I have no copies of Mr. Burgess' two speeches, 
which I have never seen. 



204 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, June 8> 1828. 

My dear Sir, — You will have seen some proofs of the pre- 
vailing sentiments, on public subjects, in this quarter. The best 
possible feeling was indicated at the meeting on the 5th. I do 
not mean in regard to myself, but on general subjects, and in 
respect to others. The toast in which you were named was re- 
ceived with the most enthusiastic applause. I do not think I 
have ever seen, in Boston, a meeting comprising so much char- 
acter, talent, influence, and respectability. I hope it may do 
good. 

One objection, my dear sir, which I have to writing to you, 
is, that your courtesy and kindness lead you always to answer 
me, and I feel that it is wrong, in the present state of your health 
and of your engagements, to impose any new duty, though it be 
a trilling one, upon you. I will really take it as a greater proof 
of friendship and confidence, if, how often soever I may write, 
you will forbear all reply, unless when there is something which 
you wish to say. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Newmarket, June 25, 1828. 

Dear Sir — At the moment of my departure from Washington, 
I received two letters (one from Duralde and one from Dupuy) 
recommending Mr. Gibson, editor of " The Argus," as Surveyor 
of the port of New Orleans. I had not time to consult with you 
and Mr. Bouligny, and directed the letters to be laid before the 
President. I have no wish on the subject but that a competent 
person should be appointed — oiie who is not tainted with Jack- 
sonism, and who may be agreeable to friends. Will you confer 
with Mr. Bouligny on the matter? 

We are now about one hundred and twenty miles from the 
city. My horses stand the journey better than I do. The heat 
is excessive. I shall stop a few days at the White Sulphur 
Springs, in Green Brier, where a letter, put into the post-ollice 
the day you receive this, or the next, would overtake me. 
My best respects to Mrs. Johnston. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 205 



DVNIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, July 7, 1 
My dear Sir, — I am in hopes this will find yon in Kentucky, 
in good spirits and renewed health. If you are as well as we 
wish you, this way, you need he no better. A strong manifest- 
ation of kindly feeling toward you. personally, has very gener- 
ally appeared in all the numerous celebrations of the 4th instant, 
in this quarter of the country, which have fallen under my ob- 
servation. As far as I can judge, the general aspect of things 
is favorable. 



P. B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, July 15, 1828. 

Dear Sir. — Notwithstanding I have been overwhelmed with 
business in the office, ever since yon left here, I would have 
written you sooner, but that, from the accounts which Mrs. ( 'lay 
has given me, at different times, of your progress, I calculate 
that you will not reach Lexington sooner than this letter. 

For the first ten days of my official labor, or, rather, recon- 
naissance, I found myself located in a field so entirely new and 
strange, that I could not move a single step without encounter- 
ing some serious obstacle. I have now become familiarized to 
a small extent of ground, over which I move with tolerable ease, 
but my horizon is yet. extremely circumscribed. I hope, how- 
ever, to be able, by great assiduity, gradually to extend it. 

I call, almost daily, on the President, who treats me with great 
kindness. His health and spirits have, I think, both improved 
since you left us. 



RICHARD RUSH TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, August 3, 1828. 

Dear Mr. Clay, — Although I have had little or nothing to say. 
I should, at least, have dropped you a line since you went away, 
if only to tell you that we are all alive here ; but you have been 
whirled about so from post to pillar, that I have not known 
where to aim a letter at you. You have been bargaining all 
over the land, no doubt. No sooner have I heard of your being 



206 PKIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

at one place, but the next mail has fixed you at another, and the 
third somewhere else again ; but now that you are in Lexington, 
I may hope that you will remain at moorings awhile. 

First and foremost, I am glad to learn that your health is 
better. Next, I congratulate you on the issue of the Louisiana 
election, hoping .that you will follow suit in old Kentuck. 

The President sets out for the North to-morrow. He expects 
to be gone a couple of months. I am highly pleased with our 
new colleague, General Porter. If I do not mistake, there is a 
fine mixture of suavity and energy in him. The former is very 
apparent and attractive ; you would conic at the latter, I suspect, 
as soon as you get below the surface. 

Adieu. Be sure you bring good tidings from Kentucky, or 
we will give you no welcome on your return. 

P. S. August 4. — Hearing to-day that you are expected to 
leave Lexington on the 10th, and not being sure that this will 
reach you there, I will just fold it up to wait your arrival. 



MR. CLAY TO DR. R. PINDELL. 

Washington, October 15, 1828. 

My dear Doctor, — I observe that some of the Jackson party 
in Kentucky, for the purpose of withdrawing public .attention 
from the alleged connection between General Jackson and 
Colonel Burr, have gotten up a charge against me of participation 
in the schemes of the latter. I have not myself thought it neces- 
sary to notice this new and groundless accusation ; but, prompted 
by the opinions of some of my friends, and actuated also by the 
desire to vindicate the memory of an inestimable but departed 
friend, who fell in the military service of his country, I com- 
municate the following statement, which you are at liberty to 
publish. 

Public prosecutions were commenced in the Federal Court of 
Kentucky, against Colonel Burr, in the fall of 1S06. He applied 
to me, and I engaged as his counsel, in conjunction with the 
late Colonel John Allen, to defend him. The prosecutions were 
conducted by the late Colonel Joseph Hamilton Daviess, a man 
of genius, but of strong prejudices, who was such an admirer of 
Colonel Hamilton, that, after he had attained full age, he (Colonel 



of i n:\iiY clay. 207 

D.) adopted a part of his name as his own. Both Colonel Allen 
and myself believed that there wa i pound for the prosecu- 
tions, and that Colonel Davi . • chiefly moved to institute 
them by Ins admiration of Colonel Hamilton, and his hatred of 
Colonel nun - . Such was our conviction of the innocence of the 
accused, that, when he sent us a c resolved 

to decline accepting it, aii'l accordingly returned it. We said to 
each other. Colonel Burr has been an eminent member of the 
profession,. has been Attorney-General of the State of New York, 
is prosecuted without cause in a distant State, and we ought not 
to regard him in the light of an ordinary culprit. The first 
prosecution entirely failed. A second was shortly afterward in- 
stituted. Between the two I was appointed a Senator of the 
United States. In consequence of that relation to the General 
Government, Colonel Burr, who still wished me to appear for 
him, addressed the note to me, of which a copy is herewith 
transmitted. I accordingly again appeared for him, with Colonel 
Allen ; and when the grand jury returned the bill of indictment 
not true, a scene was presented in the Court-room which I had 
never before witnessed in Kentucky. There were shouts of 
applause from an audience, not one of whom, I am persuaded, 
would have hesitated to level a rifle against Colonel Burr, if he 
believed that he aimed to dismember the Union, or sought to 
violate its peace, or overturn its Constitution. 

It is not true that the professional services of either Colonel 
Allen or myself were volunteered, although they were gratuitous. 
Neither of us were acquainted with any illegal designs whatever 
of Colonel Burr. Both of us were fully convinced of his inno- 
cence. A better or braver man, or a more ardent and sincere 
patriot than Colonel John Allen never lived. The disastrous 
field of Raisin, on which he .fell, attests his devotion to his 
country. 

The affidavit of a I\Tr. John Downing has been procured and 
published, to prove that I advised him to enlist with Colonel 
Burr, and that I told him I was going with him myself. There 
is not one word of truth in it, so far as it relates to me. The 
ridiculous tale will be credited by no one who knows both of 
us. The certificate of some highly respectable men has been 
procured as to his character. His affidavit bears date on the 
third, and the certificate, on a detached paper, on the fourth in- 
stant. I have no doubt that it was obtained on false pretences, 



208 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

and with an entire concealment of its object. I was at the 
period of the last prosecution preparing to attend the Senate of 
the United States at the seat of Government, many hundred miles 
in an opposite direction from that in which it afterward appeared 
Colonel Burr was bound. So far from my having sent any mes- 
sage to Mr. Downing, when I was last in Lexington, I did not 
then ever dream that the malignity of party spirit could fabricate 
such a charge as has been since put forth against me. 

It is not true that I was at the ball given to Colonel Burr in 
Frankfort. I was at the time in Lexington. It is not true that 
he ever partook of the hospitality of my house. It was at that 
time a matter of regret with me that my professional engage- 
ments, and those connected with my departure for Washington, 
did not allow me to extend to him the hospitality with which it 
was always my wont to treat strangers. He never was in my 
house, according to my recollection, but once, and that was the 
night before I started to this city, when, being myself a stranger 
in this place, he delivered me some letters of introduction, which 
I never presented. 

On my arrival here, in December, 1806, I became satisfied, 
from the letter in cypher of Colonel Burr to General Wilkinson, 
and from other information communicated to me by Mr. Jeffer- 
son, that Colonel Burr had entertained illegal designs. At the 
request of Mr. Jefferson, I delivered to him the original note 
from Colonel Burr to me, of which a copy is now forwarded, and 
I presume it is yet among Mr. Jefferson's papers. I was furnished 
with a copy of it, in the handwriting of Colonel Coles, his private 
secretary, which is with my papers in Kentucky. 

This, my dear doctor, is a true and faithful account of my 
connection with Colonel Burr. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Lagrange, October '28, 1828. 
My dear Sir, — The critical time of Presidential election is 
now come ; the busy time of the session is coming on: yet I 
know you ever have a thought to spare for your affectionate 
friend on this side of the Atlantic. Mr. Brown, whose excel- 
lent lady, to our inexpressible gratification, is now in much bet- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 

ter health, keeps you informed of European political news. The 
Russians have met with more difficulties than was expected. 
It is said that mistrusts relative to the suppressed conspiracy 
have somewhat added to them. Mahmond is a spirited sultan. 
Yet at the long run the power of Russia is considered to have 
the better chance, unless the influence of England and Au 
succeed in patching up a peace during the winter. Amid these 
broils and intrigues, France is acting a noble part quite the 
reverse of the Spanish Expedition, a contrast which has been 
observed by Ibrahim Pacha himself in his conversation with 
the French Generals. The session will not open until the 20th 
of January. Some particular points we wish to obtain have 
been stated in a public dinner at Meaux, an account of which I 
inclose. There are some others that will be mentioned ; but 
while the present ministry are less advanced in their own liberal- 
ism than we wish them to be, they find at court a heavy draw- 
back in their endeavors to move on the popular road. Some 
progress, however, is made. 

Mr. Cooper is now on his travels ; his late publication will 
give to European readers more correct notions of the United 
States than are found in most books on that matter, and yet I 
hear it is criticised in America as being too complimentary to 
his own countrymen. I don't find it is so, and while foolish 
slander is propagated in almost every British publication, don't 
think that feeling, or rather profession of humility, to be sea- 
sonable. 

I understand Mr. Cooper has resigned his Consulship of Lyons. 
The emoluments of the station do not allow a special mission 
from the United States. I am told applications have been made 
in favor of my friend Mr. Bradford, a New Yorker, nephew to 
Mr. Philip Hone, late mayor of that city, and I hope I don't 
break upon my determination, not to solicit preferments, when I 
tell you that Mr. Bradford, whose intimacy with us has given 
me full scope to know him well, is one of the best, most sensi- 
ble, and noble-minded young gentlemen I ever met in my life. 
He is universally beloved. 

Be pleased, my dear sir, to remember me very respectfully 
and affectionately to Mrs. Clay and family. 

14 



210 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, November 9, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 7th as I did the 
previous one. inclosing a letter from Mr. Spotswood. I need 
not say that it would have afforded me much satisfaction if I 
could have gratified this gentleman with the appointment to the 
vacant clerkship in the Department of State. But Mr. Trist 
came recommended to me by so many powerful considerations, 
of ample qualifications, a knowledge of foreign languages, etc., 
the necessity of his appointment to the ^personal comfort of Mr. 
R., that I could not decline appointing him. In his behalf, I 
declined appointing a brother-in-law of the President, who was 
urged on me. 

I can give you no satisfactory news about the election. The 
most discouraging aspect of our cause is that it is necessary that 
we should succeed in five or six disputed States to insure Mr. 
Adam's election. It will be wonderful if we do not fail in some 
one of them. The same mail that carries this letter will take 
you some information from New York, which will enable you 
to make an approximation. My solicitude about Kentucky is 
extreme. 

Have you read my Russell correspondence ? I am deceived 
if the publication of it does not essentially benefit me. I wish, 
after the smart of the election is dissipated, that Pleasants 
would republish it. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Washington, November 13, 1828. 
My dear Sir, — I received your letter of the 6th instant. 
From the information which it communicates, and that which I 
derive from other channels, there is reason to apprehend that the 
vote of Kentucky has been given to General Jackson. Without 
that event, there is but too much probability of his election. 
To this decision of the people of the United States, patriotism 
and religion both unite in enjoining submission and resignation. 
For one, I shall endeavor to perform that duty. As a private 
citizen, and as a lover of liberty, I shall ever deeply deplore it. 
And the course of my own State, should it be what I have rea- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 211 

son to apprehend it has been, will mortify and distress me. 1 
hope, nevertheless, that I shall find myself able to sustain with 
composure the shock of this event, and every other trial to which 
I shall he destined. 

You kindly promise me the suggestion of your ideas as to my 
future course. I shall await it with anxiety, and shall receive 
and deliberate upon it in the friendly spirit by which I know it 
will be dictated. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

W \sniNGTON, November 18, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 11th instant, from 
which 1 am very sorry to learn that a late political event has 
produced on you so serious an effect. It is certainly not very 
agreeable, and, though feared, was not expected by me. It is 
undoubtedly calculated to weaken our confidence in the sta- 
bility of our free institutions. But we ought not to allow this, 
or any other of the ills of human life, to deprive us of hope 
and fortitude. For myself, I declare to you most sincerely, that 
I have enjoyed a degree of composure, and of health too, since 
the event was known, greater than any I experienced for many 
months before. I shall continue at my post, honestly and faith- 
fully discharging my duty, until the 4th of March, when I shall 
surrender my trust to other hands, which I hope may serve the 
public with more success — with more patriotic zeal they can not. 
In my retirement to Ashland, I shall find tranquillity, and what- 
ever my future situation may be, I shall continue to employ my 
best exertions for the preservation and perpetuation of those 
great principles of freedom and policy, to the establishment of 
which my public life has hitherto been sincerely dedicated. I 
believe the other members of the Administration, including its 
head, will, in their respective spheres, calmly exercise equal dili- 
gence, till the arrival of the same period. 

A most wild and reprehensible suggestion has been made by 
some anonymous correspondent of the Editors of •• The Intelli- 
gencer," whose letter is published in their paper of this day, to 
defeat the election of General Jackson, by the Electoral Col- 
leges, or some of them, taking up a new candidate. Nothing 
could be more exceptionable than such an attempt at this time. 



212 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

It would be a gross violation of the pledge which has been im- 
plied, if not expressed, in the choice of all the electors. Calam- 
itous as I regard the election of General Jackson, I should con- 
sider the defeat of his election, at this time, by any such means, 
as a still greater calamity. 



CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, November 28, 1828 

My dear Sir. — In consequence of my inattention to the post- 
office, I did not receive your letter of the 23d till yesterday af- 
ternoon. I need not say how deeply I regret the loss of Judge 
Trimble. He was distinguished for sound sense, uprightness 
of intention, and legal knowledge. His superior can not be 
found. I wish we may find his equal. You are certainly cor- 
rect in supposing that I feel a deep interest in the character of 
the person who may succeed him. His successor will, of 
course, be designated by Mr. Adams, because he will be re- 
quired to perform the most important duties of his office, before 
a change of administration can take place. 

Mr. Crittenden is not personally known to me, but I am well 
acquainted with his general character. It stands very higb. 
Were I myself to designate the successor of Mr. Trimble, I do 
not know the man I could prefer to him. Report, in which 
those in whom I confide concur, declares him to be sensible, 
honorable, and a sound lawyer. I shall be happy to meet him 
at the Supreme Court as an associate. The objection I have to 
a direct communication of this opinion to the President arises 
from the delicacy of the case. I can not venture, unasked. t<> 
recommend an associate justice to the President, especially a 
gentleman who is not personally known to me. It has the ap- 
pearance of assuming more than I am willing to assume. I 
must, then, notwithstanding my deep interest in the appoint- 
ment, and my conviction of the fitness of Mr. Crittenden — a 
conviction as strong as I could well feel in favor of a gentleman 
of whom I judge only from general character — decline writing 
to the President on the subject. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 213 



P. GUAL TO MR. CLAY. 

Tacit.aya, November BO, 1828. 

Esteemed Sir, — I take the liberty to recommend Colonel 
Belford Wilson, a son of the illustrious friend of America, Sir 
Robert Wilson, to your attentions and civilities. This gentle- 
man, after having conducted himself admirably well among us, 
returns now, with honor, to the bosom of his country and fam- 
ily. As he first thinks of visiting those States, I assure you that 
I will be very grateful for any demonstration of regard which 
you may have the goodness to bestow on him. 

It is with particular pleasure I avail myself of this occasion 
to renew to you the assurances of the ancient esteem and re- 
spect for your person, with which I am ever your affectionate 
and obedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO H. NILES. 

Washington, November 25, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 22d. The in- 
auspicious issue of the election has shocked me less than I feared 
it would. My health and my spirits, too, have been better, 
since the event was known, than they were many weeks before. 
And yet all my opinions are unchanged and unchangeable, about 
the dangers of the precedent which we have established. The 
military principle has triumphed, and triumphed in the person of 
one devoid of all the graces, elegances, and magnanimity, of the 
accomplished men of the profession. 

Our course is a plain one. We must peaceably submit to 
what we have been unable to avert, firmly resolved to adhere to 
our principles, and to watch over the Republic like faithful sen- 
tinels. We should especially avoid gratuitous propositions of 
support to the new Administration, or, on the other hand, a rash 
and precipitate opposition. Many of our friends have got un- 
der the hostile standard. We should endeavor to recall them to 
their duty by kindness. A blind and precipitate attack would 
produce union where now there is nothing but the elements of 
discord. 

I thank you and Mrs. Niles for the high compliment you 



214 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

have lately paid me. It is a better evidence of the fidelity of 
your friendship than of your discretion, at this time. With my 
best wishes for the mother and son, I remain your friend. 



J. 3. CRITTENDEN TO MR. CLAY. 

Frankfort, December 3, 1828. 

Dear Sir, — Though recent occurrences have a good deal de- 
pressed my spirits, my principles forbid me to despair. I have 
yet a strong confidence " that truth is omnipotent, and public 
justice certain," and that you will live to hail the day of retri- 
bution and triumph. Your political enemies render involuntary 
homage to you, by their early and spontaneous apprehensions 
of your future elevation, and your friends find their consolation 
by looking upon the same prospect. The combination that has 
been formed against you will dissolve — its leaders have too 
many selfish views of personal aggrandizement to harmonize 
long ; your friends will remain steadfast, bound to you more 
strongly by adversity ; you will, of necessity, be looked to as 
the great head and hope of the great mass that constitutes the 
present Administration party. This is the spirit already visible 
here, and I am sanguine of its final result. 

What an excellent philosophy it is which can thus extract 
good from evil — consolation from defeat ! But enough of it. 

You will, of course, go on with the Administration to the last 
moment, as though Mr. Adams had been re-elected, and with all 
the good temper and discretion possible. But what then ? 
That you should return to your district, and represent it again 
in Congress, seems to be the general wish and expectation of 
your friends here. It is certainly mine. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

\\i -i Poimt, December 16, L828. 

My dear Father, — When last in Washington, I mentioned 
to my mother that it would be in my power to be absenl from 
West Point (luring the two months of the next encampment ; 

and intimated that it would be highly agreeable to me to visit 



OF HENRY CLAY. 215 

Kentucky. My feelings on this subject still remain the same, 
but I must confess that I am not very eager to go, all things being 
considered. For if I am to remain in the army, it will be of the 
last importance to me to enter as honorable a corps as possible, 
and this may, in some measure, be influenced by my going, for 
it is but reasonable to suppose that my mind will be somewhat 
estranged from s'tudy. You will perceive that I am beginning 
to lose all other ambition than that of being an honest man. A 
professorship of mathematics in some college, or, lastly, a post in 
the army, are all that I now aspire to. My talents, I am forced to 
coincide with you in what I have long supposed to be your 
opinion, are not above mediocrity. This presents to me an in- 
surmountable obstacle to the profession of law ; for in this pro- 
fession there is no medium. A good lawyer and a great man, a 
poor lawyer and a contemptible man, are synonymous terms. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 2G, 1828. 

My dear Sir, — Having nothing to offer you from this place, 1 
am anxious to learn from you what is passing at Richmond. 
Here we are in a political eddy, the currents from which will not 
break out and show themselves until about the Ides of March. 
There is nothing but vague speculation in regard to the inten- 
tions of the President-elect, with which it is not worth while to 
trouble you. Toward the bottom, indeed, there is some move- 
ment in the water already, but it does not show itself upon the 
surface. It is said that a good deal of jealousy is felt, and in 
private circles sometimes manifests itself, among the partisans of 
the Vice-President and the Governor-elect of New York. 

I get a great many letters from all quarters, conveying strong 
sentiments of unabated confidence and ardent attachment. I am 
frequently, too, favored with the advice of friends of a directly 
opposite tenor. One tells me, for example, that I should retire 
from public life for two or three years ; while another is equally 
positive that I should forthwith return to the House of Repre- 
sentatives. I have as yet decided upon no course for myself, 
and shall decide upon none until my return to Kentucky. In 
the meantime, I should be glad to be favored with your opinion, 
and that of other friends whom you may think proper to consult. 



216 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

Mr. Madison's letters are sought after with great avidity. They 
have produced much effect, and I think are likely to produce 
much more. This is evidenced by the violence of some of those 
who are opposed to the Tariff. You will he shocked when 1 
tell you that one of them, and one, too, from Mr. Madison's own 
State, I have been told, said that he ought to have died, or that 
he wished he had died, five years ago. 

But to return to Richmond. What will be done with the Con- 
vention question ? What is the tone of party spirit ? Is it a 
proscription there, as in some other places ? 



CHAPTER VI. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1829. 

MB. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

"Washington, January 10, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I perceive from your letter of the 5th instant, 
at St. Julien, that you had not then received one which I ad- 
dressed to you at Richmond, where I presume it is now await- 
ing your return. 

We are here absolutely without any thing new or interesting. 
Congress is in no disposition to do business. The present Ad- 
ministration is winding up their public affairs, originating no new 
measures, and endeavoring to turn their stewardship over to their 
successors in the best state possible. In respect to the purposes 
of the new Administration, or rather the intentions of the Presi- 
dent-elect, nothing seems to be known here. We have vague 
speculations only in place of positive information. Washing- 
ton, therefore, is not at present the source of news. We must 
look to other quarters for it. And accordingly we have been 
turning our attention toward Richmond. There appears in 
your Legislature to be so many projects in regard to the basis of 
the representation in your Convention, that we are at a loss to 
conjecture whether any thing or what will be done. 

As far as I can learn (and on that subject a good deal of in- 
formation reaches me), there is a good spirit prevailing among 
our friends every where. They seem to be generally impressed 
with the belief that our true policy, at present, is to do nothing 
but look on; that they ought to avoid alike hostility or pr 
sions of support toward the new Administration ; that until it 
begins to act, there are no means of judging what its course will 
be ; that in the mean time, holding fast to all our principles, and 
keeping constantly in view the danger to civil liberty of the pre- 
dominance of the military spirit, we should preserve stout hearts, 



218 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

and be prepared to act, under contingences, according to the 
impulses of a generous patriotism. 

Whether I ought to he brought out, and when, must be left 
exclusively to my friends. This latter point, supposing the first 
affirmatively settled, is one of great delicacy. Precipitancy and 
tardiness should be equally avoided. The public wants tran- 
quillity after the late agitation. To present formally candidates 
for the succession, before the President-elect enters on the duties 
of his office, would be premature and offensive to the quiet, 
that is, the larger portion of the community. It would be other- 
wise if the candidates of the Jackson party were announced. 

Where Jacksonism has prevailed, and secured majorities in the 
Legislatures of the different States, those majorities are more in- 
imical to me, at this time, than majorities in those Legislatures 
ever will be hereafter. They have been elected under an ex- 
citement, and I have remarked always that the representatives of 
the people, when so elected, are ahead of the people themselves 
in reference to that particular excitement. 

It will be time enough, upon my return to Kentucky after the 
4th of March, to decide whether I shall remain in private, or 
again seek to enter public life. I should be glad to know your 
views, and those of other friends, on that point. I presume there 
will be no difficulty in my return to the House of Represent- 
atives, if I should permit myself to be a candidate. 

The health of Mr. Southard has been bad throughout the 
session. He is now confined to his house, but I hear is better 
to-day. Without, perhaps, there being any cause of immediate 
apprehension, I think his situation is one full of anxiety to his 
friends and connections. 

Do you not mean to visit us ? I need not say that I should 
see you with great pleasure, and although this city presents less 
attractions than usual at this season to the ladies, we should be 
most happy to see Mrs. Brooke also with you at my house. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

West Point, January 21, 1829. 
My dear Father, — I have received your letter of the 14th 
instant. By it all my fears are quieted ; and I can now look for- 
ward to something honorable. You can hardly conceive of a 



OF HENRY CLAY. 219 

more wretched stale than that in which I was before this letter 
was received. I have always had an inclination for the law. 
which arose from an entire conviction that it was the path which 
led to distinction. When, therefore, it was first proposed to me 
to come to West Point, I thought that I saw all my hopes blasted 
forever, and. though I desired to acquire the education given 
here, yet I must confess to you that I looked upon my stay at 
this place with a kind of horror. But now that I see that your 
intentions have all along been in unison with my wishes, I feel 
sensibly how much I have erred in the supposition, too hastily 
formed, that you purposed that I should become a member of the 
army. Feeling as I now do, I can not but beseech you to for- 
give me for the uneasiness which my but half-suppressed discon- 
tent must have caused you. 



RICHARD HENRY LEE TO MR. CLAY. 

Leesbuhg, January 23, 1829. 

Dear Sir, — When I last enjoyed the honor of your company, 
I took the liberty of asking the favor of you, to prepare for me 
a list of all the treaties negotiated by yourself and by our foreign 
ministers, during your occupancy of the State Department. You 
were kind enough to promise me the enumeration I desired. I 
am obliged to you for the call of my attention to the principle 
you mentioned, so favorable to our navigation interests, and for 
the history of its introduction into our later treaties. 

Permit me to obtrude again on your attention, so far as to beg 
that, amid the various and important business constantly engaging 
your mind, you would not forget the memoranda I want. You 
will add to the favor, if you will attach a note to the name, etc., 
of any treaty, noticing any nov r el principle contained in it, and 
elucidating the history and the intention of its introduction, and 
its actual or probable effect upon our national interests and na- 
tional relations. 

In composing the history I took the liberty of telling you I 
intend to write, if I have the leisure and opportunity of writing, 
I shall devote no small portion of it to the first Department un- 
der the Executive, and to the labors and character of its head. 
I say this, my dear sir, without any purpose of flattery or cour- 
tier-like spirit (my Republican spirit is above this), but because 



220 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

its concerns and the character and labors of its officer, of the 
period I shall be writing of, belong to the history and glory of 
my country. When I again have the pleasure of seeing you, I 
will take the liberty of submitting it to you, whether it would 
be your wish that an historian, if thought adequate to his task, 
should take any notice of the false and malicious imputations cast 
upon you and Mr. Adams, of intrigue and corruption. For my- 
self, I am inclined to think that to notice them would be beneath 
the dignity of history and of your characters. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

W\~hin'gto.v, January 30, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — Ten days confinement from a severe indispo- 
sition produced by cold, has delayed my answer to your favor 
of the 14th inst. I am now better, though I still feel much de- 
bility from the attack. 

I should be extremely gratified to be able to accept for myself 
and Mrs. Clay your kind invitation to visit you and Mrs. Brooke, 
at St. Julien, but I regret that it will not be in our power to 
avail ourselves of it. At the season of the year when we shall 
return to Kentucky, that is, about the 10th of March, we have 
no alternative but to proceed to Wheeling or Pittsburg. The 
roads on every other route will be then almost impassable. 
From the present time, until the period of our departure, we 
shall be constantly occupied with winding up my official busi- 
ness ; with packing up, sending off, and disposing of furniture; 
and with other arrangements for the journey. 

I should be very much pleased to visit Richmond. It would 
afford me much satisfaction to see my friends, and I doubt not 
that there are many of them that would be happy to meet 
me. But I must own to you frankly, that I should not expect to 
derive any political benefit from such a visit. The contest has 
been too recent, passions have not yet sufficiently abated, preju- 
dices are yet too high and strong, to make me an acceptable 
guest at Richmond, where a large majority of the Legislature is 
of an opposite faith from that which 1 profess. I should, un- 
doubtedly, find among that majority much of the courtesy which 
characterizes our native State. I should even, now and tlion. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 221 

find a friend, but the great mass would be animated by a spirit, 
positively, if not bitterly hostile. Yon must have remarked 
what I have often observed, that when a particular popular cur- 
rent prevails, the representatives of the p ople elected under its 
impulse, arc in advance of the people themselves in violence. 
It is on this principle that I am inclined to think that the Jack- 
son majorities in the Legislatures, this winter, are more adverse 
to me than they will probably be at any future time. 

With respect to any movements in regard to the successor of 
General Jackson, I believe I have already said to you that I think 
it would be premature now to commence them. The next six 
months — the next six weeks — may develop important events, 
and shed brilliant light upon our path. At all events, I do not 
wish that our friends should disturb the public in the enjoyment 
of that tranquillity, of which, after the late violent agitation, it 
has so much need. As to the danger which some apprehend, 
of the separation and dispersion of our friends, I do not partici- 
pate in their fears. The same principles which have guided 
them heretofore, will continue to unite them together. In every 
demonstration which has been made during the present winter 
(witness the Senatorial elections in Ohio, Delaware, Maine, etc.), 
they stand firm and unshaken. 

Should any thing occur to me prior to my departure for Ken- 
tucky, as being expedient to be done, in relation to the Presi- 
dential succession, I will communicate it to you. 



JAMES BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

Pabis, February 13, 1S29. 

My dear Sir, — I am happy to find that you have borne your 
disappointment and loss of place with so much true philosophy. 
If you have lost your office, you will regain your health and im- 
prove your fortune, and therefore I think you may felicitate 
yourself on the result. I hope, as you love a little agitation. 
you will obtain a seat in the House of Representatives, where 
your weight of talents will be felt, and where, by resuming your 
cheerfulness and former popular manners, you will again fill a 
high place in the esteem of the nation. The outs have acted 
wisely in resolving not to set up opposition until the new Ad- 
ministration shall have done something which merits opposition. 



222 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. . 

Washington, February 21, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I received the last letter which you did me 
the favor to write me, and I have since received the publication 
relating to the Tariff, to which it refers. From the course which 
that business is taking in your Legislature, I apprehend that a 
majority will oppose itself to the opinions of Mr. Madison. 

After a great deal of speculation in relation to the new Cabi- 
net, an arrangement of it is now spoken of with great confi- 
dence. If that be executed it will consist of Mr. Van Buren for 
the State Department, Ingham for the Treasury, Eaton for the 
War, Branch for the Navy, Berrian for Attorney-General, M-Lean 
to continue Post-master General, or to be put upon the bench 
of the Supreme Court ; and, in the latter case, Colonel Johnson, 
of Kentucky, to be appointed Post-master General. Van Buren 
has, from the first, run upon all the tickets for the State Depart- 
ment, and I conclude, therefore, that he will be appointed. I 
was at first incredulous as to the other persons spoken of as Sec- 
retaries ; but I have been compelled at last to believe that they 
are, at least at this time, designed for these respective places. 

I should be glad to hear from you after the decision of the 
Tariff resolutions in your House of Delegates. Let me know 
if there is any diminution in the number of those who have 
heretofore opposed the power. From your silence in your last 
letter, I infer, as I had anticipated, that the tone of the Jackson, 
portion of your Legislature, with two or three exceptions, is de- 
cidedly hostile to me. 



FRANCIS BROOKE TO MR. CLAY. 

Richmond, February 23, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I hasten to answer your letter of to-day. 
The intelligence it gives of the proposed Cabinet had reached 
here on yesterday, and filled the Jackson party with consterna- 
tion. Some affect not to believe it, and some few to palliate it; 
you will see the vote on the Tariff, the minority has increased 
from forty-nine to seventy-five, and would have been higher but 
for the absence of some members. You have not drawn the 
intended inference from any letter. There can be little doubt 



OF HENRY CLAY. 22o 

that a large portion of the Jackson party are favorable to you. at 
least, this is my information from every quarter. I think the 
people must say with Hamlet, "Look at this picture and look at 
that," and for this only has been the mighty strife. I confess I 
am myself disappointed. I thought General Jackson, if he could 
not get splendid talents and information, at least would have 
brought around him great moral worth, as those who have 1 I 
of it are not insensible to its value. Feeling must have super- 
seded this instinct. £ think that now his future course will not 
be doubtful. He must put himself into the hands of the Secre- 
tary of State, who will be do facto, President, etc. 



LAFAYETTE TO MR. CLAY. 

Paris, March 8, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — A precious book, beautifully bound, and con- 
taining several of your admirable speeches, has been lately pre- 
sented to me, by your excellent brother, Mr. Brown, as a new 
token of your friendship. That it has been received with every 
sentiment of affection and gratitude I need not, I know, to as- 
sert, but I want to express, and so I want to add that while I 
am happy to acknowledge your personal kindness along with 
your public eloquence, there is one speech, strongly tinctured 
with both, which although not recorded in the book, as it relates 
to a more private object, shall ever be engraved in my heart. 

Four days are now elapsed, my dear friend, since you have 
been restored to a life of repose ; it will probably not last long, 
and I anticipate the approaching time when you will he returned 
to Congress, and probably to the Chair of the House. I hope 
the intervals will be consecrated to the restoration of your health, 
above which, and also above every thing that concerns yourself 
and family, I beg you to give me frequent and minute informa- 
tion. They become the more necessary to me as we are going 
to lose Mr. and Mrs. Brown, a loss that is deeply felt by every 
American on this side of the Atlantic, by none more than by 
me, and my family who are attached to them by every tie of 
gratitude, affection, and respect. Mrs. Brown's health is now- 
better than when they took the resolution to return homo. We 
have been much alarmed on her account; it is now over, as to 
danger, and a few days ago she looked quite well. But all the 



221 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

particulars relative to her health she, no doubt, gives to her sis- 
ter, and these lines will go by the same opportunity. Packets 
now run three times in the month. Miss Brown, who lives with 
them, is a most amiable young lady. 

Of the affairs of Europe you have, in your official capacity, 
heard a great deal, and much of them is to be found in the pub- 
lic papers. It appears the two great despots of the East will try 
the fortune of war. The conduct of the French Government 
has been liberal and disinterested. Not so with the rulers of 
England ; they strive to contract the limits and independence of 
Greece. Their connections with Don Miguel, and late behavior 
at Terceira, have roused a general cry against them. The Amer- 
ican stars have lately lighted on a dextrous and honorable pri- 
vate attempt, of which I feel very proud. Austria is as bad as 
ever. Italy deserves the leaden inquisitorial yoke. It is impos- 
sible for Spain and Portugal to go on as they are now governed. 
The downfall of the Villele administration, and a better choice 
of deputies which occasioned it, has set the interior affairs of 
France on a somewhat improved line of march. But very slow, 
timid steps indeed. Far even from what could be done within 
the so very limited circle of an octroid charter. Yet, I think it 
a duty to assist in the little progressive good that can be obtained. 

On reading again your observations on our Colonization So- 
ciety, of which to have been chosen a Vice-President is to me 
a great honor, and a most highly valued gratification, I have 
thought you will employ some of your time of leisure in pro- 
moting the most important object that it remains, in my opinion, 
for our part of America finally to obtain. The settlement of 
Liberia may in future times civilize Africa, and facilitate a grad- 
ual abolition of slavery. I have seen with much pleasure that 
measures of the kind were talked of for the District of Colum- 
bia. You know that while I feel, as much as any man, the 
cursed evil entailed upon America by Great Britain, I am not 
insensible of the immense difficulties, but think that if an inces- 
sant attention, in the Southern States, to that momentous object 
of self-interest as well as of humanity, is directed that way, 
means may be found out consistent with prudence and posses- 
sion, to limit, lessen, and perhaps, in time to eradicate that only 
obstacle to Southern improvements, that only objection to the 
example proposed to the world in the superior state of American 
civilization. 



of nr.xnv CLAY. 

I am told our friend Mr. Adams intends to remain with his 
family in the District of Columbia; if you see them, and your 
former colleagues in' the Cabinet, remember me very affection- 
ately to them all. Present my best respects to Mrs. Clay and 
family. 

My son requests me to present his best respects. Le Valleur 
is now a partner in a bookselling firm under the name of Mal- 
ker & Co., Faubourg, St. Germain, where he has si ttled his 
family and himself. You know that M. David, one of the first 
statuaries in the world, and the first in Paris, member of the In- 
stitute, etc., has presented Congress with a marble bust, made on 
purpose to be offered as a tribute to them. It has been much 
admired by the artists of Paris. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 12, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I have not written you very lately, because, 
having nothing to communicate which the papers did not con- 
tain, I did not wish to make you pay postage for the thousand 
rumors with which this city has been filled. Among the official 
corps here there is the greatest solicitude and apprehension. The 
members of it feel something like the inhabitants of Cairo when 
the plague breaks out ; no one knows who is next to encounter 
the stroke of death ; or which, with many of them is the same 
thing, to be dismissed from office. You have no conception of 
the moral tyranny which prevails here over those in employ- 
ment. It is, however, believed that the work of expulsion will 
not begin till after the adjournment of the Senate. 

It is said that Amos Kendall, of Kentucky, is to be appointed 
an auditor, and Tom Moore minister to Colombia ! 

I take my departure to-morrow. My inclination at present is 
not to return to the next Congress, but I shall reserve a final 
decision o( the question, for a consideration of all circumstances, 
after my return home. The major part of my friends, whom I 
have consulted, think a seat in the nexi C pedient. 

Among them all the best spirit prevails, and high and confii I 
hopes are cherished by them. Every movement of the President, 

15 



226 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

though dictated by personal resentment toward me, conduces to 
my benefit, especially his Kentucky appointments. 

Let me hear often from you. and believe me ever your devoted 
friend. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Wheeling, April 1, 1829. 

My dear Friend, — W. C. C. Claiborne having decided rather 
suddenly to throw himself on board a steamboat about departing 
for Louisville, I have only time to say that we reached this place 
the day before yesterday, nine days after you, in good health. 
I found here your letter, informing me of your journey, 
etc. The same snow that you left on the mountains remained, 
and smoothed our passage over them, although it rendered us 
somewhat uncomfortably cold. 

My journey has been marked by every token of warm attach- 
ment and cordial demonstrations. I never experienced more 
testimonies of respect and confidence, nor more enthusiasm. 
Dinners, suppers, balls, etc. I have had literally a free passage. 
Taverns, stages, toll-gates have been generally thrown open to 
me, free from all charge. Alonarchs might be proud of the re- 
ception with which I have been every where honored. 

The work of proscription has commenced at Washington and 
elsewhere. Our poor friends, Cutts, Watkins, and Lee, are 
among the suiierers. Editor Hill has succeeded the first, Editor 
Kendall the second, and Major Lewis the last. So we go. 

Let me hear from you, and often, I entreat of you, for no one 
feels more warmly actuated in the welfare of you both than your 
constant friend. 



JIB. ADAMS TO MB. CLAY. 

Meridian Hill, Washington, April 21, 1829. 
My deab Sir, — Your favor of the 12th instant, inclosing a 
letter to you from Mr. Child, with your answer, has come to 
hand. The letter to Mr. Child has been forwarded to him as 
\<>u desired. 

I have no design or wish that old party distinctions should be 
revived, and do not believe that they will or can be. A struggle 



OF HENRY CLAY. '1 1~! 

by certain individuals of the old Federal party to recover the 
ascendency they had lost, may render a reaction of the Repub- 
licans necessary for their own defense j it can be necessary for 

noother purpose of which I am aware, and I have no wish to 
fortify myself by the support of any party whatever. 

The objection there appears to me to be against applying the 
denomination of Federalists to the opposers of protection to 
manufactures and internal improvement is, that 1 believe the 
fact to be otherwise. The old Federalists were generally friendly 
to those interests. Washington was pre-eminently so. The 
remains of the Federal party now are divided upon those ques- 
tions, as they are upon all others of present political interest. 
They have now no public principle peculiar to themselves. 

The Federalists have generally supported the measures of the 
two last Administrations. Those Administrations have adopted 
and practiced upon many of their favorite opinions. Most of the 
Ts T cw England manufacturers are Federalists, and would hardly 
be gratified by the application of their names to their opponents. 

The composition of the new Administration indicates the in- 
tention to conciliate the South. Perhaps means will be found 
also of propitiating the West. New England will not be a 
favorite ; nor, it would seem, will Virginia ; but there is now no 
propensity to opposition in either. 

You will have time, between this and next August, to fix 
your opinion, whether it will be advisable for you to come to 
the House or not. I have no doubt your presence here will be 
salutary. But whether, at the present Congress, a seat in the 
House would conduce to your health or comfort may admit of 
doubt. 

Wherever you may be, you will have with you my respect 
and esteem. 



RICHARD HEXRY LEE TO MR. CLAY. 

Wa-iiincton, April 22, ls2P. 

Dear Sir, — From a late paper, I learn that you and your fam- 
ily have arrived at home, without accident. Permit me to 
press to you the pleasure this intelligence has given me. 

I was chagrined, that through misinformation of the time of 
your departure from this city, I did not enjoy the friendly privi- 



228 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

lege of presenting to you the parting assurances of my respect 
and remembrance. I felt this circumstance so much, that I de- 
termined to take the earliest opportunity of presenting them to 
you, which I do now, when they are as strongly entertained. 

No one, my dear sir, of your friends and fellow-citizens, has 
traced the course and incidents of your return to Kentucky with 
more interest and gratification than myself. " I will not despair 
of the American Republic" while I observe the redeeming and 
purifying leaven which yet remains in her citizens. It is essen- 
tially diffusive, and will yet leaven the whole mass. It is not 
the frothy effervescence of sordid interest and ignorance, but the 
genuine risings of enlightened and fearless patriotism. To drop 
all figure, the gloom in which you left us here was dispelled by 
the events of your journey. I rejoiced in the testimonials of 
the confidence and gratitude of the country, so generously and 
enthusiastically offered you. They have cheered more than 
half a million of freemen, who, as you truly observed, are not 
surpassed by any body of men on earth, in civic virtues and in- 
telligence. I was cheered with them, not only because they 
prove the sense of justice to be strong and fearless, but because 
they give us reason to hope that by concentrating all our efforts 
upon a statesman, we may yet be able to bring back the people 
to a just estimate of civil services, civil qualifications, and civil 
freedom. 

Mr. Adams (whom I have lately seen, in fine health and 
spirits) has very much gratified his friends by his letter to the 
citizens of New Jersey. The irony of the last paragraph was 
keen, and just toward him, who, on such an occasion, had the 
indecorum to charge him with corruption and abuse of office, 
and to libel half a million of his fellow-citizens. The truth 
and faithfulness of the portraits Mr. Adams has so glowingly 
drawn, have struck the public with a force which has exceed- 
ingly annoyed the unwilling beholders, whose eyes could not be 
altogether turned away from the brilliant colors and the striking 
resemblances. That letter has blistered the tribes of error in all 
their gradations. 

I can not but hope, my dear sir, that in considering your own 
plans and views, and the wishes of your friends and fellow-citi- 
zens, you may decide that your duty requires you to appear again 
in public in the House of Representatives. Aside from all pub- 
lic views, which you are best able to take and correctly to 



OF HENRY CLAY. 229 

weigh, it would afford rac great gratification to be able to renew 
the personal intercourse with which you honored me. 

You have said, that " the country needed repose." However 
true this may be, / know that it is contemplated in Virginia, in 
less than two years, to accept your pledge to serve your country, 
which will be signified by public meetings, the number and 
character of which will be impressive to others, and imperative 
upon you. I expect to return to my native State in two years, 
and to mingle my efforts in giving impetus to these move- 
ments. 

I once mentioned to you my design of writing a History of 
the Administration of Mr. Adams. My relation, Mr. Fendall, 
had anticipated me. He will execute this just and grateful task, 
while we will compare our views and unite our researches. 



FRANCIS BROOKE TO MR. CLAY. 

St. Juliex, April 29, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I may now congratulate you on your safe ar- 
rival with your family at Lexington, and on your triumphal 
journey from Washington to your peaceful home. The unso- 
licited and unbought respect and affection of numerous bodies of 
your fellow-citizens, must much enhance the feelings with 
which a consciousness of having discharged faithfully your du- 
ties to your country inspires you, and give an example to 
others which will stimulate them to do the like, in despite of 
the slanders that may annoy them. 



MR. ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Meridian Hill, Washington, May 2, 1829. 

Dear Sir, — I have received your obliging letters of the 16th 
and 19th ultimo, the latter covering a copy of my correspond- 
ence with the New Jersey Committee, printed upon satin. I am 
happy that my letter was satisfactory to you, and I have lcai 
that it has been generally gratifying to our friends. There was 
a testimony due from me to all the members of the late Admin- 
istration, and in a special manner to you. ?. inity 
could have been afforded me to give it than that pr< . 1 me 



230 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

by the New Jersey Address, and I availed myself of it with 
pleasure. 

The Catholic Question has assumed in England an aspect 
entirely new : and is presenting appearances quite unexpected. 
Brought forward in Parliament by the Duke of Wellington and 
Mr. Peel, carried in the House of Commons by a majority of 
more than two to one, it is almost doubtful whether it will yet 
overpower the cry of " No Popery" in the House of Peers, among 
the people, and with the king. Mr. Gallatin, who is here, and 
called upon me a few days since, thinks it will pass the House 
of Lords by a small majority. 

May 11, 1829. 

I was interrupted in the writing of this letter by information 
of a domestic calamity, of which you will have seen some ac- 
count in the newspapers, and which has disqualified me for the 
time even for the performance of some of the duties of social 
life. The loss of my eldest son has been followed by an aggra- 
vation of the infirm health of his mother, and by an effect upon 
my own spirits, calling for more than the consolations of phi- 
losophy. 

Mr. Southard, before he left this city, had met with an afflic- 
tion similar in its nature, though not equally severe, in the loss 
of his youngest daughter. He has returned home, and, I have 
learned, is recovering his health. Mr. Rush has sailed for Eng- 
land. 

I expect to leave this place toward the close of this month. 
I have no intercourse with any member of the Administration, 
and am a silent observer of passing events. 



JOHN L. LAWRENCE TO MR. CLAY. 

Xew York, May 2, 1829. 

Dear Sir, — Since our separation at Gottenburg, I have had 
but few opportunities of presenting myself to your remembrance, 
except in the way of recommending to your notice, personally or 
officially, some whom I deemed worthy of it. Let my motive 
excuse me for now obtruding on a subject, immediately relating 
to yourself, but interesting to the nation at large. 

A report reached us on the 30th ult.. that a duel had been 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 231 

fought in which Mr. Pope was your antagonist, which terminated 

fatally to you. Although it came in so questionable a shape as 
to warrant disbelief, it filled the minds of our worthiest citiz 
with apprehensions of its truth. Idle as the arrival of success- 
ive mails has proved the rumor to be, it has forced the commu- 
nity to reflect, most seriously, on the consequences that would 
flow from the reality, and has created feelings, of which, I am 
sure, you will not he regardless. 

In looking for relief from the evils, actual and prospective, to 
which an inconsiderate admiration of great military talent has 
exposed the country, the eyes of the largest portion of the in- 
telligent and reflecting turn to you, as the instrument of our de- 
liverance. From you, therefore, duties are manifestly owing of 
higher obligation than any purely personal. It is undoubtedly 
difficult to repress the sensibilities of an honorable mind smart- 
ing under wrongs, and goaded by their repetition ; but the effort 
is noble in itself, and is imperatively demanded by your present 
relations to your fellow-citizens. The sentiment, that in a crisis 
like this, all private considerations should yield to our regard for 
the national welfare, is one to which you are pledged by repeated 
declarations. I submit, whether you have not thus offered the 
guarantee of your personal reputation, that no matters merely 
affecting yourself shall tempt you to endanger the public cause ? 

It is not my intention to enter into prosing remarks on duel- 
ling, or to say that it never ought to be resorted to. Your own 
affair at "Washington was perhaps unavoidable, situated as you 
then were. But your position has materially changed with the 
times, and brings a corresponding change of obligation along 
with it. Public sentiment would now condemn what then it 
might excuse or even approve. The honest prejudices of the 
people exact from you a homage which need not before have 
been accorded. In a large section of the Union the practice is 
regarded with horror. In our own, where the pistol has been 
as fashionable and as fatal as elsewhere, appeals to it, as the ar- 
biter, have become absolutely disreputable. Even in those States 
where duelling is yet countenanced, I apprehend that it is a 
necessary recourse only when one's character for personal corn- 
age might suffer by declining. This motive can not op rate in 
your case. Were your worst enemy required to pronounce on 
that point he would probably censure you for being too chival- 
rous. 



232 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Besides the considerations above stated, there is another de- 
manding much attention. The iK . lion is essentially 
belligerant ; and without a corps of sharp-shooters its arrange- 
ments would seem incomplete. It might, peradventure, be im- 
agined by some self-constituted legion of honor, that your re- 
moval from -this world of woe*' were a meritorious service! 
If it be understood that you are to take the field whenever an 
adversary gives occasion, you may make up your mind to suc- 
cessive hazards of your life, until the catastrophe shall be accom- 
plished. 

I have been thus plain, perhaps I ought to say abrupt, on this 
subject, because I have seen and felt how intimately it is con- 
nected with the best hopes of the country. A repetition of 
apology is needless to one of your own frank disposition. On 
that disposition I rely for permission to add my confidence, that 
if similar reports shall hereafter reach us, we may at once stamp 
them with discredit and denial. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, May 12, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 29th ultimo is duly re- 
ceived. I must refer you to the public prints for the incidents 
of a journey which, though performed at an unpleasant season, 
and over bad roads, was full of gratification, on account of the 
testimonials of esteem, public and private, by which it was at- 
tended. On Saturday next I am to attend a public dinner, 
which promises to be the largest ever given in this State. 

I have been much occupied, since my return, with repairs to 
my house, grounds, and farm. As far as I have yet been able 
to learn the state of public feeling and sentiment toward me, it 
is far from being unfavorable, except with a few of the most 
violent of the Jackson party. Many of them have come out 
openly for me, and several of the most prominent o( them in this 
district have communicated their wishes that I would oiler for 
Congress. I could not only be elected with the most perfect 
ease, but I have reason to believe that there would be no oppo- 
sition from any quarter whatever. The public, nevertheless, 
confiding, perhaps, too much in my judgment as to what is best 
to be done, is entirely disposed to acquiesce in any resolution 1 



OF HENRY CLAY. 233 

may take. That which I I idopted, is, to offer for no office 

at present, and until I can see mine distinctly than I do now 
how I can be useful, but to remain in prival • life, attending to 
the cave of my private affairs, and the re-establishment of my 
health. I was consulted repeatedly to know if I would serve in 
the Legislature, but I thought it best to decline. 

There is enough in passing events, God knows, to alarm, to 
arouse, and to urge to the most strenuous exertions ; but, if I 
were to put myself forward, my motives and my actions would 
be questioned, and perhaps the reaction so desirable would be 
retarded, instead of being accelerated. Others, I think, had 
better take the lead, who stand in attitudes less likely to excite 
passion and prejudice. Above all, we must rely upon the re- 
flections and convictions among the Jackson party themselves. 
Already they begin to repent, that is, many of the better portion 
of them. Pride restrains them from denouncing openly, with 
their mouths, an Administration which they detest from their 
hearts. As time elapses, and new events are developed, they 
will take courage, and finally concur in restoring the civil rule. 

I have not determined to return to the practice of my old pro- 
fession, and nothing but necessity will compel me to put on the 
harness again. That I hope to be able to avoid. 

I must request that you will keep me informed of all that re- 
lates to your Convention, its composition, etc., etc. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

West Point, May 19,1829. 

My dear Father, — You caution me against remitting my ef- 
forts in my present pursuits, in my eagerness to enter upon the 
study of the law. I hope, and at present feel confident, that I 
shall preserve my rank in my class. The course of studies of 
his year is by no means so difficult as that of the last, or of 
the coming year. I now find time to attend to some studies 
which I believe will be useful to me when I commence the study 
of law. I am reading Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws. I take 
much interest in it. The subjects treated of are such as v. 
present themselves continually to a man's mind in our country 
of laws and of free inquiry. The style of the work is very dif- 



234 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

t 

ferent from the general style of the French, for it is both concise 
and comprehensive. 

I shall be with yon by the 1st of July. Remember me to 
our friends. 

p. S. — I would be glad if you would send me an application 
by you for a furlough for me. I believe I have not mentioned 
this to you before, although it ought to have been done, for by 
a regulation of the Academy, it is required that the application 
of the parent or guardian should be handed in, together with 
that of the cadets, on the 1st of June. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, June 2, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I have lately purchased in Washington Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, fifty full-blooded Merino ewes, the choice out 
of three hundred, part of one of the finest flocks in the country, 
which belonged to the late Mr. 11. W. Meade, whose persecution 
and sufferings were so well known in Spain. The choice was 
made by a friend of mine, himself one of the largest sheep own- 
ers in Pennsylvania, and one of the best judges that I know of. 
There are about sixteen or eighteen lambs with them, and I sup- 
pese an equal portion of rams. I expect them all at Maysville 
in the course of eight or ten days, on their way to my resi- 
dence. 

It is my intention to let a few of my particular friends have 
about a dozen of them, at reasonable prices. If you wish any 
of them you may have your choice of an ewe with the ram 
lamb belonging to her, at $25 for both. Should you decide to 
take them, you may show this letter to Messrs. January & Co., 
as their authority for delivering them to you. 

Is there not danger, my dear sir, of an adverse result to the 
Congressional election in your district ? I fear it, and I hear per- 
haps some things that you do not. There is much dissatisfac- 
tion among our friends in Bourbon, as I regret to learn. They 
think that they are entitled to the member. Can you not de- 
vise sonic plan to collect and concentrate public opinion in be- 
half of one candidate of the party of our friends ? There is no 
one in the district that I should be more happy to see elected 
than yourself; and I hope, if you continue to offer, that you may 



OF HENRY CLAY. 235 

be. But if it be impracticable, from any cause, perseverance 
might display resolution without leading to any good issue. 
Perseverance indeed, without success, might had to the worst 
consequences to yourself and to the district. It might give a 
permanently unfriendly character to the district. Such I have 
several times observed to be the effect of divisions elsewhere 
among our friends. 

There is always danger, which I trust I need not guard you 
against, of the opposite party practicing deception in regard to 
the prospects of candidates among their opponents. 

I pray you, my dear sir, to appreciate the friendly motives 
which have dictated these observations, to which you will give 
just so much weight as they deserve. 

Under all circumstances and every contingency I pray you to 
believe me sincerely your friend. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, June 1, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I have been mortified by the late movements 
in Bourbon, in bringing out Mr. Marshall for the House of Rep- 
resentatives, lest you might suppose that when I wrote to you a 
few days ago, I had some knowledge that they were in contem- 
plation. Such a supposition would be very for from the fact. 
I had no more knowledge or information about them, when I 
wrote that letter, than the man in the moon. I had indeed un- 
derstood from Mr. Marshall himself, that he would not be a can- 
didate, and I was well pleased with that decision, because I be- 
lieved it to be in conformity with the best interests of his family. 
And now I have no doubt, indeed I have heard that he had been 
brought out, most reluctantly on his part, in consequence of the 
state of things to which I alluded in my last, as existing in 
Bourbon. 

I derived information of that state of things, principally from 
Mr. Rain, the sheriff of Bourbon, and Mr. Spiers, who were at 
my house the day after the dinner at Fowler's garden. They 
botli represented the dissatisfaction in Bourbon, among our 
friends, to be very great, because a candidate was not selected 
from that county, and they both concurred in expressing the 
belief that they could not be prevailed upon to rally at the polls 



236 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ou any candidate out of Bourbon, Mr. Rain expressing that opin- 
ion with more, and Mr. Spiers with less, confidence. I urged 
them to support you. They said that they hoped some measure 
would be yet adopted to collect the sense, and unite the exertions 
of our friends throughout the district. I of course supposed that 
that measure would be some such as was adopted last year. I 
went to Madison on Tuesday last, and it was not until my return 
on Thursday, that I learned what had transpired in Bourbon. 

I have thought these statements due to our loni and warm 
friendship, and I hope they will be received in the spirit in which 
they are made. 

I have not yet heard of my sheep having been started. 



MB. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Louisville June 26, 1829. 

Mr dear Sir, — I quit this city with much regret, on account 
of my not seeing you. The trial of young Wickliffe, fixed for 
Tuesday next, and the preparations incident to it, oblige me to 
go. I have, during four days, been in constant expectation of 
your arrival. I am informed by rumor only, of your being on 
board the Hibernia. 

I have not time to enter into details on public affairs. Unless 
my friends are greatly deceived, there is not a particle of doubt 
about the disposition of Kentucky to support me, and although 
it is too early to draw the line between those who are for, and 
those who are against me, we have reason to hope the friendship 
of the majority of the next Legislature. 

I should be extremely delighted to see you at Ashland. Can 
you not visit us ? If not, do let me hear from you. 



MR. VAUGHAN TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, July 1, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I return you my very best thanks for the 
promptitude with which you have executed my commission, and 
procured for me a genuine Kentucky rifle. I shall hope to re- 
ceive it about the time of the meeting of Congress, if not before. 
I find the opportunities of sending any thing from Washington 



OF HBNBS CLAY. 237 

to Kentucky by private hands rarely occur. I have long had in 
my possession, the portrait of a spaniel dog, lithoj raphed by a 
very young boy, the son of our friend Christopher Hughes. 
Among many copies which he sent to me to distribute among 

his friends at Washington, was one for Mrs. Clay. To send it 
by the post would be to risk spoiling it. Do suggest to me 
some means of forwarding it. 

I have a letter from Christopher Hughes, dated the 10th of 
May, when he was wailing with anxiety to know his fate, 
whether he was to be envoy' or renvoye. I am very sorry to 
know that by this time he must be aware that he is to be super- 
seded by Mr. Preble, and I do not yet hear what other appoint- 
ment he is likely to get. 

Mr. Ouseley is to embark on the 8th, at New York, for Eng- 
land, with the first statement on the part of the United States, 
respecting the Boundary Question, referred to arbitration. I 
think the statement well done. 

I am glad of an occasion of opening a communication with 
you. You will be glad to know that I am perfectly satisfied 
with the conduct and feelings of the present President, in all 
communications which I have had with his Government, as 
British minister. 

I leave it to others better informed than myself, to tell you the 
news of Washington. I am glad to find that you justly appre- 
ciate the conduct of the Duke of Wellington, in carrying through 
the Catholic Relief Bill. The difficulties were insurmountable 
for any other man. 

With kindest regards to Mrs. Clay and all your family, not 
forgetting Johnny, believe me ever yours, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

ABHLAHDi July 9, IS 29. 

My dear. Sir, — I duly received and have attentively read your 
favor of the 20th ultimo, with the inclosure, the address to the 
voters of the Second Congressional district. I entertain no doubt 
that you have correctly represented the purport of your interviews 
with Major Allen, and that you have been unjustly dealt by on 
account of them. 

I view with inexpressible regret the state of things in your dis- 



238 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

trict, and I should be most happy to lcam that any mode had ■ 
been adopted to concentrate on yourself, or any other friend, the 
votes of those who concur in their political principles. Can no 
such mode be fallen upon ? Is it not yet practicable to convene 
persons together from all parts of the district ? Of what avail to 
the present candidates, on the same side, can it be to persevere, 
with the certainty of defeat before them all ? How will the 
honor of any one of them be vindicated by such a course ? De- 
feat can neither gratify friends nor the candidate himself. It 
may display his resolution, but it can prove nothing else. Most 
certainly neither of the candidates can feel gratified by being the 
instrument (should such be the result) of the failure of his com- 
petitor on the same side. 

The existing state of things can afford pleasure to none but our 
opponents. They alone will profit by it. And I fear that it 
may lead, in your district, to pernicious consequences permanently. 
I have not seen nor heard directly from Mr. Marshall since he 
was announced. I believe him utterly incapable of deception ; 
and I therefore feel confident that he has been brought out con- 
trary to his wishes ; for he told me in April that he had no desire 
whatever to be a candidate. I do not know him, if he would 
not concur in any honorable expedient by which a member can 
be returned favorable to those views of national policy which 
both he and you entertain. 

But I must leave this painful subject, fearing, I confess, that 
owing to the unhappy divisions among friends, we are destined 
to add another to the long catalogue of defeats, from the same 
cause, which we have sustained within a few years. 

I have been disappointed in not receiving the Merino sheep, 
which, I presume, have been kept to be sent when the weather 
is somewhat cooler. You shall be advised of their arrival. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTOX. 

Ashland, July 18, 1829. 
My deab Sir, — I received your obliging letter of the Sth in- 
stant, under date at Maysville, and I perused with great satisfac- 
tion the information and reflections it contains. Although I have 
an aversion to some long letters, it does not extend to that, and 
you would greatly oblige me by frequently writing me similar 



OF HENET CLAY. 200 

ones. T agree with you in most of the reflections which 
have communicated. The elements undoubtedly exist for a 
serious, if not doubtful struggle, at the next presidential election. 
I believe with you. that, on certain contingences, General Jack- 
son will be again broughl forward. Rut whether he should be 
or not. if the party that elected him can be kept together, in 
any considerable extent, it will be formidable, whoever else may 
happen to be taken up. The next session of Congress will, I 
think, greatly add to the dissolvents of that party which are now 
operating. Whatever the President may say or recommend in 
his message to Congress, his friends in the body must divide on 
certain leading measures of policy. Each section of it will claim 
him as belonging to it, if he should be silent, and a quarrel be- 
tween them is inevitable. On the contrary, if he speak out his 
sentiments (probably the safest course for him, whatever they 
may be), he must throw from him all of his party who are op- 
posed to his sentiments, and those thus cast off, must, sooner or 
later, attach themselves to the party which has all along been 
adverse to the General. If, for example, he comes out for the 
Tariff, the South leaves him, and will try another change, if it can 
effect it, of the office of chief magistrate. If he comes out in 
opposition to the Tariff/there will be such an opposition to him 
in the Tariff States, as must prevent his re-election. 

The worst course for those who were opposed to his election, 
and are now unwilling to see him re-elected, is that he should 
declare himself unequivocally for the Tariff. The best course for 
them is, that he should come out clearly against the Tariff. In 
the former case, it would be difficult to detach, in sufficient num- 
bers, the friends of the system from him, and make them compre- 
hend the expediency of supplanting the head of an Administra- 
tion favorable to their views. This was done in the case of 
Mr. Adams, but that was an exception, from various causes. In 
the latter supposition it would not, I think, be at all difficult or 
impracticable to unite the friends of the Tariff, and place at the 
head of the Administration one who would promote their policy. 
In short, I think matters have come, or are rapidly tending, to 
such a state of things, that those who are in favor, or those who 
are against certain measures of policy, must govern. Masks must 
be cast off, and the real color and complexion of men and their 
opinions must be seen. 

In respect to my future personal movements, I hope so to con- 



240 PEIVATB CORRESPONDENCE 

duct myself as to satisfy my friends. I appeared for young 
Wickliffe with some reluctance. I would have avoided doing 
so, if I could have avoided it honorably. But t' ci se had such 
a triumphant issue, that I have been greatly benefited by it, in 
this State, instead of being injuriously affected. 

I will write you after the result of the August elections is cer- 
tainly known. Prospects continue very good, but they arc bet- 
ter for the State Legislature than for Congress. In Chambers' 
late district you saw what they were. Mr. Marshall has declined, 
but Beatty's election is still regarded uncertain. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, August 26, 1829 

My dear Sir, — The result of our Congressional elections was 
not as favorable as might have been, owing to bad arrangements. 
Beatty was beaten by a majority of only twelve, owing to Bed- 
inger's perseverance as a candidate, and his own want of tact. 
In Tom Moore's old district our triumph is complete. 

In both branches of our General Assembly we have large ma- 
jorities, bordering upon two thirds in each, of friends of the late 
Administration. The majorities friendly to me are still larger. 

Ought our Legislature to do any thing, and what, at the en- 
suing session ? Let me know your opinion, and that of our 
friends in your quarter. 

It may adopt either of two courses : Make a direct nomination, 
or, avoiding that, limit itself to an expression of undiminished 
confidence and attachment, and a discrediting of calumnies, etc., 
etc. What is best ? Or is it best to embrace neither course ? 

My health continues good. Mrs. Envin remains at Ashland, 
but I shall accompany her to Russellville about the 10th of next 
month. 

My affectionate regards to Mrs. J. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, Septembers, 1S29. 
My dear Sir, — My friend Mr. Ewing informs me that he sent 
my sheep on the 26th ultimo, from his residence, near Washing- 
ton, in Pennsylvania, in the care of a man whose name he has 



OF HENRY CLAY. 241 

omitted to mention. They were to proceed by land, and were 
expected to travel at the rate of about fifteen miles per day. If 
no accident has happened, they ought to be at Maysville abotil 
the time this letter reaches you. I will thank you to take meas- 
ures to secure a knowledge of their arrival, so that you and Mr. 
Foreman may make choice of the ewe and ram land) which I 
have reserved for each of you. Should you prefer not to tal e 
the dams of the particular lambs which you may choose, you 
are at liberty to take other ewes, without lambs, in lieu of them. 
As the weaning-time is at hand, I thought this option might be 
agreeable to you. This letter is an authority for the selection 
which you may make, as well as your friends. 

I received your favor in regard to the unfortunate issue of the 
election. You have no friend who more sincerely regrets it than 
I do ; but as that is now unavailing, I hope, with you, that it 
may lead to no lasting consequences of a nature to be deprecated. 



ALEXIS DE SARCY* TO MR. CLAY. 

September 6, 1829. 

Sir, — To address you directly through the mail is hazardous, 
and as I have information to communicate which I deem of im- 
portance as well to you personally as to the country, you may 
expect in a few days to hear from me, under cover to some 
friend in Lexington. In that dispatch you will learn the mode 
of communicating with me. 

There is a Virginian at present residing in Franklin, in Louisi- 
ana, a Dr. John N. Field, he is an active zealous friend to you, 
and has influence which he uses freely ; he receives " The 
Focus;" send him " The Reporter." The cause derives benefit 
from his efforts. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

West Point, September 18, 1829. 

My dear Father, — I received your favor of the 3d instant. 
I am glad to be able to write, in answer to a portion of it, that 
I am not only satisfied about West Point, but, in fact, am so 
well persuaded that advantages closely connected with my fu- 

* An assumed name. 
16 



242 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ture welfare may result from the continuation of my academic 
course, that nothing would now induce me to leave this place. 
My dear father, your kindness and indulgence have convinced 
me that I have greatly erred, and that I can not too soon ask 
your forgiveness of my offense. When I wished to act in di- 
rect opposition to your decided advice, by not returning to 
West Point, my unwillingness to return did not arise from any 
obstinacy of opinion as to the utility of the course of this school, 
but merely from a sanguineness of success which so often leads 
young men to suppose that they are as competent to contend 
against the difficulties of the law, at eighteen years of ag< 
they will be at any future time. However, all this has passed 
by. and T am now completely submissive. You tell me that you 
wish me to receive your opinions, not as commands, but as ad- 
vice. Yet I must consider them as commands, doubly bind 
for they proceed from one so vastly my superior in all respects, 
and to whom I am under such great obligations, that the mere 
intimation of an opinion will be sufficient to govern my conduct. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, September 5, 1S29. 

My dear Sir, — I received both your favofs of the 11th July 
and 4th ultimo, to which I should have sooner replied; but for 
my absence from home, and that I did not suppose there was 
any urgency in my transmitting a reply. 

On public affairs, I have but little to say in addition to what 
you will find in the public prints. The result of our election to 
the Legislature of Kentucky, gave a decided majority, beyond 
all doubt, to our friends, in both of its branches. The people 
of the State would, to-morrow, give a different decision from 
what they did in November last, upon the same state of the ques- 
tion on which they then acted ; that is, a contest between the 
same parties. The manner in which the power of patronage 
has been exercised, has dissatisfied thousands who voted for 
Jackson. There is a large class of his supporters who now 
avow that their opposition was to Mr. Adams, and not to me. 
This same distinction is taken in other Western States. I have 
every reason to he satisfied with the state of things in Kentucky. 
Whether any measures, in relation to myself, will be adopted at 



OF HENKT OLAT. 243 

the next session of our Legislature, and if any, what its charac- 
ter may be, will depend upon intervening events, and upon con- 
sultation among my friends after they assemble at the seat of 
Government. 

I hardly know what to say about your land near Madison- 
ville. It would afford me much pleasure to render you any 
assistance in my power, but I am afraid to assume any direc- 
tion about it, lest I should not be able to do what might be 
necessary. The land is remote from me, and it would be as 
difficult for me to attend to the tenanting or processioning of it 
as it would be for you to perform the same operation on a tract 
of land in Franklin or Pittsylvania. I have great confidence in 
Triplctt, and I think when you hear from him, he will account 
satisfactorily for his silence. My personal acquaintance in that 
quarter is very limited. I shall set out, in a few days, on a trip 
to Russcllville, and perhaps I may meet with some one, during 
the performance of it, who may give me useful information in 
regard to your land, and I will bear the subject in mind, so as 
to make inquiries when opportunities shall occur. But I must 
advise that you would rely more particularly on some one resid- 
ing nearer the land than I do. If it has no intruder upon it, 
you are in no danger. But if there be any person settled on it, 
claiming under an adverse title, it may be necessary for you to 
adopt measures, by bringing suit, or otherwise, to prevent the 
operation of the law of this State, commonly called the Seven 
Years' Limitation Law. According to that law, a peaceable and 
undisturbed possession, during seven years, under a title derived 
from the State, protects the occupant against any outstanding 
adverse claim. I need not tell you that the validity of the law 
is controverted ; but it is wise not to be obliged to depend upon 
that plea exclusively. Pray remember me affectionately to Mrs. 
Brooke, and believe me ever cordially your friend. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, Oct bei ". I - 
My dear Sib, — I received with great thankfulness your sev- 
eral interesting communications from Northampton, which shall 

be returned as you desire. I have also received your last favor. 
without date, from Washington. I have perused with g 



24-i PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

attention these several letters. The contents of some of them 
are highly curious. 

I envy you your pleasure at Boston. How much should I 
have been delighted, if I could have shared them with your- 
self and Mrs. J. 

I have just returned from my dreaded tour to the southern 
part of this State. I went as far as Hopkinsville. Mr. and 
Mrs. Erwin, and four or five ladies from Mississippi, accompa- 
nied me to Russellville. From that point they proceeded to 
Nashville. The tour was full of gratification. Every sort of 
enthusiastic demonstration of friendship and attachment, on the 
part of the people, was made toward me. Barbecues, dinners, 
balls, etc., etc., without number. 

I have been really in danger of that gout with which I have 
been threatened by some of the Jackson party. And tell Mrs. J. 
that if I had a younger heart, that also would have been in danger 
amid the blaze of beauty in the State of. Green River. I thought 
the men, and women too, would devour me. I devoured many 
of their good dishes at their numerous festivals. 

In spite of all my prudence, which nobody, I am sure, will 
question, I was forced to speak often and long. At Russellville, 
and Hopkinsville, I spoke upward of three hours together, to at 
least three thousand persons at each place. My addresses were 
never better received by all parties, nor were they ever more 
satisfactory to myself. 

Things could noi be expected to be more favorable in Ken- 
tucky than they are at this time. I entertain not a particle of 
doubt of there being at this moment a decided majority for me 
against all and every person whatever. 

From what I hear, the Legislature will do something at the 
next session, to testify its regard for me. What that will be 
may depend on subsequent events. But something will be done. 
Should things remain pretty much as they now are, it may not, 
and I think, ought not to be a nomination. We ought not to 
take upon ourselves the responsibility of a premature agitation 
of a certain question. Still, events at Washington may possibly 
occur early in the winter, to render necessary, and to justify 
that measure. I think our friends may place all reliance on 
Kentucky, and on the discretion of the next general assembly. 

Present me affectionately to Mrs. J., whose leisure I hope will 
permit her often to write me during your abode at Washington. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 245 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, October 8, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — Will you think of the suggestion contained 
in the inclosed letter, from a very worthy and intelligent friend, 
formerly in Congress, and send it to Niles, or some other com- 
placent person to act upon, if you do not disapprove it ? 

I have nothing to send you from this quarter. In Kentucky 
and I believe generally in the West, we have every reason for 
encouragement. 

I shall go to the last (I must sincerely hope) of the public 
barbecues in this State next week. That is in Mercer, to which 
I am invited by a majority of Jackson men. You know Mer- 
cer is the center of our State and Tom Moore's headquarters. 
If my addresses should satisfy me as well as those did at Rus- 
sellville and Hopkinsville, it will do good. 



JAMES BROWN TO JIB. CLAY. 

Xew York, November 1, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — You will see by the papers our safe arrival 
announced in the unusually short passage of twenty-four days, 
during which time we enjoyed fine weather, excellent accom- 
modations, and good society, in a splendid packet with an oblig- 
ing captain. Mrs. Brown suffered throughout the voyage from sea- 
sickness, but I am happy in assuring you that her general health, 
if not materially improved, is certainly not impaired by the 
voyage. We have been received with the most nattering at- 
tentions by the respectable inhabitants of the city. 

Be so good as to write to me in Philadelphia and let us know 
how you are, and what you are doing. They say here that 
many are anxious to make you President. Are you not tired of 
the troubled ocean of politics, or will you again launch into the 
busy strife ? I hope my poor bark is once more safe in port, and 
it is not my intention again to meddle with politics unless driven 
to it by ill usage or persecution, which I do not now apprehend. 

Be so good as to present our love to Mrs. Clay and all our 
dear relations. We are impatient to see them, but find Mra 
Brown's health too delicate to bear the journey. 



246 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



D. MALLORY TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, November 2, 1829. 

Dear Sir, — I had the pleasure of meeting your friend Mr. 
Johnson, the Senator of Louisiana, a short time since, and during 
our conversation, which related mostly to you, he advised my 
writing to you " fully and freely." 

You have known me a great many years, and during this long 
period of time, I think I can boast of having possessed your 
confidence to a flattering extent, considering my humble preten- 
sions to influence. You have often honored me with your ap- 
probation, and have at various times given to my views and 
opinions attention and respect. If I have not succeeded in all 
respects to the extent my vanity and zeal had • projected for 
your interest, I have the approbation of numerous 'acquaintances 
that industry and attention have not been spared to accomplish 
these views. 

I have but recently returned from a visit to several of the 
New England States, and my information is certainly cheering 
as it relates to you. In Boston, during a stay of nearly two 
weeks, I had various and highly interesting communications 
made to me on the state of public opinion. The result of these, 
and numerous others made at other times and in other States and 
places, is, that there is scarcely a doubt but that nearly all the 
Stales north and east of this will join heartily in your nomina- 
tion. The excitement on this subject in these sections of the 
country is much greater than I had supposed. We can securely 
rely on Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Ver- 
mont, and if by any casualty the < ; hero" is out of the question, 
no reasonable doubt can be entertained of the other two. 

The wish is very general that you should visit them dur- 
ing the ensuing summer. I do not, however, consider a visit to 
them half so important or politic as a visit to New York. Some 
time previous to the late Presidential election, while I had tlie 
honor of a seat in the City Convention, [ introduced a resolu- 
tion expressive of a wish that a committee should be formed to 
invite you to the city. At that time, and since, but one opinion 
prevailed. It was unanimous among our party, and much good 
was anticipated by such an event. If it was deemed so im- 
portant at that period, it surely is much more so now. 

Mr. Johnson informed me that he believed it was your inten- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 247 

tion to visit General Porter next season ; if so, I trust you aviII 
not refuse us the gratification of a visit. Indeed, it will do much 
good. Thousands of people are anxious to see you, and among 
them are many leading and influential men. 

I wrote to Mr. Smith, the editor of " The Reporter," a few 
days since, on the subject of a likeness of yourself, which I am 
ahout publishing from the portrait by Wood: will you do me 
the favor to request him to answer as early as his convenience 
will admit of it. I shall feel greatly honored and obliged by an 
early reply from yourself. 



MR. ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, December 11, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — On my return here from the North a few days 
since, I received your letter of the 23d October, written at 
Frankfort, and inclosing the printed cbpy of Mr. Jefferson's let- 
ter to Mr. Breckenridge of 12th August, 1803. It corresponds 
in opinion with his letter to Mr, Dunbar of nearly the same date, 
which had been published before. 

The sacrifice of principle, by Mr. Jefferson, in sanctioning the 
assumption by Congress of the power to do that which he thus 
acknowledges could rightfully be done only by an amendment 
to the Constitution, is destined to produce consequences from 
which 1 turn my eyes. 

I have written a reply to the Confederate Appeal of Mr. Giles' 
auxiliaries ; but have hitherto forborne to publish it. The 
friends to whom I have communicated it are not altogether 
agreed as to the expediency of its immediate publication, and 1 
have cheerfully postponed it for the present. When published, 
I shall not fail of transmitting a copy of it to you. 

I offer you my warm and sincere thanks as well for your con- 
dolence as for your congratulations. I have had the pleasure 
this day of seeing Mr. Clarke, and of hearing from him the en- 
tire re-establishment of your health. I saw Mr. Southard last 
Saturday at Philadelphia, and rejoiced at meeting him quite re- 
covered both in health and spirits. Mr. Brown is also at Phila- 
delphia ; but my stay there was so short I did not see him. 1 
heard that Mrs. Brown's health was much improved. 



248 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. VAUGHAN TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, December 18, 1829. 
My dear Sir, — Mr. Clark has delivered to me the rifle, and 
it seems to me to be, in workmanship, most perfect; and I am 
as welt pleased with it as any child you ever saw with a new 
toy. Mr. Clark and Mr. Letcher have promised to teach me how 
to use it, and it will not he my fault if we have not a field-day 
very soon. 

Gratified, as I feel, by your kindness in executing the com- 
mission which I took the liberty of giving you, to procure for 
me a genuine Kentucky rifle, which you have so admirably ex- 
ecuted, it is very painful to me to be obliged to accompany my 
thanks with a severe scolding. Yonr friends tell me that they 
were specially instructed by you (in diplomatic phrase) not to 
allow me to reimburse you, through them, for the heavy expense 
which my commission has brought upon you. This is too bad, 
and makes me very restless. The only way in which you can 
soothe me is by telling me what article you want, or would 
covet, from England, as I shall have time to get it out before 
your friends return to Kentucky, after the session of Congress. 
If you will not make choice of something useful, I shall be 
obliged to send you some article which may prove very useless 
and very unacceptable. Exercise, therefore, your frankness, and 
pray put me in a way of executing a commission for you, in as 
acceptable a manner as you have just executed one for me. I 
shall ever be proud of the rifle as a memorial of your friendship. 
I have not any public or private news to send you. I rejoice 
at the termination of the war in Turkey, and the opening of the 
commerce of the Black Sea has pleased all the world. As to 
politics at Washington, you will know better than I do what is 
the state of them. Congress has opened, it appears to me, in a 
perfect calm. 

I have been lately out of spirits, on account of the death of a 
brother, who was younger than myself, and who was a clergy- 
man of exemplary life and character, and who has left behind 
him a widow and thirteen children. 

Air. and Mrs. Johnston, Messrs. Letcher and Clark, and some 
others, your friends, are to dine with me on Chnstiu^ ■■lay, 
when we shall drink your health. 

My kind regards to Mrs. Clay, and to Johnny. 



OP HENRY CLAY. 249 

MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, December 25, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — I received your obliging favor of the 12th in- 
stant. I shall leave here for New Orleans, from the 16th to the 
20th of next month, and I purpose remaining there until early 
in March. There will be time for a letter to reach me after you 
receive this, if you write by the next mail. Tell me how I can 
serve you while there — who is to be soothed, who to be won, to 
secure your next election. Whatever I can do on that subject, 
with propriety, shall be done. 

Will you do me the favor to place the endorsed letter for 
Hughes in a train for reaching him ? Poor fellow ! he has met 
with most unkind and most unjust treatment. 

With the compliments of the season to yourself and Mrs. 
Fohnston. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, December 31, 1829. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 20th instant, under cover to 
Major Tilford, and franked by Judge Clarke, came safe to hand ; 
and I thank you for the views and information which it com- 
municates. 

There is the best and most friendly disposition prevailing so 
far with our Legislature at Frankfort. They are disposed to do 
any thing right and politic ; but, from what I learn, I presume 
nothing will be done but to present an argumentation-report in 
favor of the Tariff and Internal Improvements, in which will be 
embodied some friendly expressions concerning me. The Gov- 
ernor gets along without difficulty. Much good spirit exists in 
regard to the State's doing something for its own improvement ; 
but the great obstacle is the want of means, and the want of 
union as to objects to be first undertaken. 

I am busy in making preparation for my intended voyage to 
New Orleans. I purpose leaving home in less than a fortnight, 
about the 12th of next month. I regret to find that myexpet 
visit there has already excited more expectation than I would 
have wished. I have heard nothing of General Van Rensselaer. 
I am afraid that the frightful state of our roads has deterred him 



250 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

from making his intended detour. I shall lament this the more, 
because I think we should have arranged it to descend the river 
together. 

P. S. Should you address me, as I hope you may, while I am 
at New Orleans, your letters put under cover to Nicholas Ber- 
trand, Esq., Shipping-port, Kentucky, would quickly reach me. 



REV. JOHN S. BARGER TO MR. CLAY. 

Dear Sir, — I could not conscientiously drink to you a toast, 
but I indulge the hope that you will permit me to offer to Al- 
mighty God an humble prayer for the Hon. Henry Clay. 

May God the Judge who " putteth down one and setteth up 
another" reward you with the confidence and highest honor of 
your happy country, for whose glory you have so arduously and 
faithfully toiled. May your labors for your country's glory be 
at least equaled by your competitor and surpassed by your efforts 
to secure your Maker's favor and to proclaim your Saviour's re- 
nown. And having faithfully served your country and your 
God, may you largely and forever share with his saints the hon- 
ors and kingdom of our common Saviour. Amen. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 183 0. 

MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, January 12, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — Your Alma Mater is a petitioner to Congress. 
The affliction which has recently occurred, presents her in that 
posture. Transylvania University was the first temple of science 
erected in the wilds of the West. Do not these circumstances 
give some claim to the charity of a generous Government ? If 
you think so, will you say one friendly word in behalf of the 
application ? 



REV. WM. HAWLEY TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, January 14, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — Permit me to return you my humble but sin- 
cere thanks for the very able, interesting, and I trust, useful 
speech in favor of the Colonization Society, which you have 
given to the public, a copy of which I received yesterday. 

I had read it the day before in the " National Intelligencer" with 
a pleasure and satisfaction I will not attempt to describe. Not a 
word is out of place, nor is there a sentence too much or too little. 
The whole subject is presented in so clear a light and happy ar- 
rangement that he who runs may read and understand the object, the 
importance and the usefulness of the institution. The appropriate 
manner in which you have introduced the subject of Christianity 
and exhibited the powerful operation and extensive effects which 
would be produced by the successful accomplishment of the ob- 
jects of the Society, in a religions point of view, will, I doubt 
not, command the united approbation of all denominations of 
Christians, and insure their cordial co-operation. 



252 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Our anniversary takes place next Monday and I hope to suc- 
ceed in having this speech placed on the pages of our Report ; 
for it ought to be in the hands of every man, woman and child, 
throughout the country. 

In your retirement from the honorable, but arduous situation, 
which you recently occupied, I hope your health has improved, 
and that the subject of religion, which you so eloquently advo- 
cate, and which my feeble endeavors to impress on your mind 
may have failed to accomplish to the extent of my wishes, will 
now occupy that portion of your time to which it has so power- 
ful and just a claim both as it regards this world and that which is 
to come. In this world true religion sweetens all our joys, miti- 
gates all our sorrows and eventuates in preparing us for the death 
of the righteous, and for those mansions of bliss prepared by the 
Saviour of the world for all those who truly love and obey 

him. 

You have my earnest prayer that your life may be long pre- 
served to your family and to your country, and that you may 
yet receive her highest reward for the many useful services you 
have rendered the Republic, and finally obtain an unfading crown 
of glory at the right hand of God. 

Mrs. Hawley unites with me in affectionate regards to Mrs. 
Clay and yourself, and I beg you to accept the assurance of my 
very high esteem and respectful consideration. 



ALEXIS DE SARCY TO MR. CLAY.* 

February 11, 1830. 
It will not be in my power to meet you so soon as I expected, 
but you may rest satisfied that all goes well. Be true to your- 
self, be discreet, and there is nothing to apprehend. Say noth- 
ing about Mr. Adams, nothing in allusion to him ; the reasons 
assigned in your speech, not long since, for accepting office under 
him, were injudicious. It will be impracticable for me to be in 
Kentucky earlier than May or June. 

* This note, and the following extract from a long letter of bold advice, are 
written over an assumed name, Alexis de Sarcy, but the writer appears to have 
been well-known to Mr. Clay, and a sort of Mentor. How he was entertained in 
tbis capacity, is not known. See another note from same, page 241. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 263 



ALEXIS DE SARCY TO MR. CLAY. 

Sir, — You are reputed to possess judgment, tact, a deep and 
correct knowledge of the human character, and a self-possession 
that never falters. I am not disposed to controvert the opinion, 
yet I think if you are to be judged by the events of the last five 
years, your claim to these qualities must be denied. During 
that period, you have committed errors so palpable and gross, 
that no man so distinguished could have been betrayed into. 
It might be ungracious, as well as unnecessary, to notice all the 
blunders of that time, but you will permit me to mention one, 
that remarkable one, your defense of yourself against the charge 
of '-bargain, intrigue, and management." Had you avowed a 
bargain, instead of denying, explaining, and defending, I am 
grossly mistaken in the character of the American people, if you 
had not sustained your popularity at its highest flow. If, instead 
of your letter to your constituents, and all your other letters and 
speeches and sayings, and the sayings of all your friends, you 
had promptly declared that your vote for Mr. Adams was the 
result of a bargain, of a pledge on his part, to support the Ameri- 
can system and internal improvements, while General Jackson's 
silence, reserve, and affectation of offended dignity at being ap- 
proached, left you, the founder of the system, and all its other 
friends, in doubt as to the policy of his administration upon these 
subjects — that this consideration, added to your other objections 
to the General, had decided your course upon that question, and 
that you accepted the Department of State under the influence 
of the same motives, to aid in extending and supporting the sys- 
tem, with a determination to resign and oppose the Administra- 
tion, if Mr. Adams played false — that it was the operation of 
such considerations which induced you to disregard the recom- 
mendation of the Kentucky Legislature, and offer yourself a 
victim on the altar of your country, as General Jackson had 
himself done in declaring martial law at New Orleans — had you 
done this, my-life on it, the newspaper clamor would have been 
hushed, that prolific theme been removed, and your adversaries 
confounded. It is over ! How shall we repair the loss and cor- 
rect the evil ? 



254 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



3IK. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

New Orleans, February 27, 1S30. 

My dear Sir. — Your several letters addressed to me in Ken- 
tucky, and at this place, have been received. Owing to the 
Ohio river being closed by ice, I did not receive the former as 
early as they would have reached me by land. That obstruction 
being now removed, and boats daily arriving from Louisville, I 
shall receive the letters of my friends with more regularity, 
during the ten or twelve days that I propose yet to continue in 
this city. Except the two short excursions to Mr. Goniot's and 
Mr. Millegan's, I have not been out of the city and its immedi- 
ate neighborhood. I have been treated throughout with the 
greatest respect and attention. Some of the more prominent 
Jacksonians, especially those who are expecting offices, keep 
at a distance ; but all others, embracing many of that party, 
have been extremely civil. I have been invited to public 
dinners at Memphis, Vicksburg, Fort Gibson, Natchez, and 
Baton Rouge, but I have declined all, except that proposed at 
Natchez. 

I have been often with your friend, Judge Porter, who I think 
worthy of all the fine things you have said of him to me. I 
like him extremely, and hope that our acquaintance will leave 
impressed upon him toward me the same sentiments of esteem 
and friendship which I feel for him. 

I shall expect eagerly Mr. Webster's second speech on Mr. 
Foote's resolution, of which your letters and those of other friends 
have communicated such flattering accounts. The triumph which 
he enjoyed was a noble one. I fear his resolution against Duff 
Green was premature, and dictated by a chafed and proud spirit, 
indfgnant at his vile misrepresentations. His ninth Thermidoi 
has not, I fear, yet arrived. 

I have been agreeably surprised to find the opinion in favor 
of the Tariff so general and so strong in this State. You must 
not be surprised to find yourself shortly instructed by the Legis- 
lature to support it. From what I learn, at least two thirds of the 
Legislature, if not more, are in favor o( it ; but they have great 
difficulty in collecting and keeping the members at Donaldsville. 

Duralde lias declined beiiiL! a candidate for Governor, at a mo- 
ment when, they tell me. Ins election would have been certain, 
if Roman hail declined, and probably if he would not. He did 



OF HENRY CLAY. 255 

not wish to produce divisions among friends, and realty cared 
nothing about the office. 

My best respects to Mrs. Johnston. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

On Board tiu: Caledonia, near Eaton Rouge, March 11, 1830. 

My dear $ir, — You will perceive, from the inclosed, that my 
anticipation has been realized. You will now be at liberty to 
pursue your own judgment in relation to the great measure refer- 
red to. On that subject two grounds will naturally suggest them- 
selves to you, as forming a justification for your future course : 
1st, the will of your constituents ; and, secondly, that you will 
not assist in disturbing an established policy. 

I expect to reach Natchez to-morrow morning, and I shall re' 
main there until Sunday the 14th, when I shall ascend in the 
George Washington. 

All parties tell me that your re-election is safe. I think you 
were wise in declining being a candidate for the office of Gov- 
ernor. Roman, I believe, will be elected. I think it the inter- 
est of our friends to unite on him. There is a good prospect of 
our returning those friends to the House of Representatives ; 
and yet I am not without fears that we may lose the majority in 
your Legislature. The city of New Orleans is the pivot : and 
it is extremely difficult there to animate our friends to proper 
exertion. It will be well for you to come here after the close of 
Congress. My cordial regards always to Mrs. Johnston. 



MR. DURALDE* TO MR. CLAY. 

New QttLEAKS, March 18, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — I received, by the return of William Clai- 
borne, your letter of the 14th instant. I was glad to hear that 
Henry, so far, had been a good boy, and had given no trouble to 
those around him. I shall feel greatly relieved when I hear of 
your safe arrival at Louisville. 

Your friends here feel grateful toward the people of Natchez 

* Son-in-law to Mr. Clay. 



256 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

for having treated you so kindly during your short stay among 
them. 

The resolutions concerning the Tariff, which passed the Sen- 
ate unanimously, have also passed the House of Representatives 
by a large majority, there having been but seven dissenting 
votes. 

Unless a very great change should take place, I have no doubt 
but that A. B. Roman will be elected Governor of this State in 
July next. 

Mr. Thomas Hart, who is the bearer of this, will give you 
the pocket-handkerchief you had left at Donaldsonville. 

Present my best respects to Mrs. Clay, and to the rest of the 
family, and remember me to my dear, dear little Henry. 



MB. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Fraxkfokt, March 25, 1 830. 

My dear Sir, — I reached this place this morning from Louis- 
ville. My passage from Natchez in the George Washington 
comprehended all the agreeable circumstances. Nothing could 
surpass the warmth of my reception in Mississippi. Both parties 
attended the dinner and ball at Natchez, and they vied with each 
other in their testimonies of respect. I had the satisfaction to 
make the acquaintance of Drs. Duncan and Mercer, with both 
of whom I was much pleased. 

I believe that I have not heretofore said to you, that I found in 
Louisiana an unanimous and strong opposition to the acquisition 
of Texas. Your brother is disinclined to offer at the next elec- 
tion for the Legislature. I endeavored to overcome his repug- 
nance. I think he ought to be there, where he might essentially 
serve you. He has an excellent standing in the House. Gen- 
eral Thomas will beat Ripley with ease for Congress, if those 
two only offer. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Asulaxd, April 6, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 14th ultimo, 
transmitted through a friend. It discloses a state of public 
affairs at Washington, both curious and mortifying. Your ac- 



OF HKXIIY (LAY. 257 

counts and conclusions are substantially concurred in by other 
friends who write me. If the incompetency of the President 
could he manifested to the public, I have uo doubt, with you, 
that his re-election would he impracticable. But how is that 
to be done? How, especially, will that large portion of it. 
which contributed to place him when- ho is, be made to believ ■ 
his unfitness? — particularly when majorities in both Houses co i- 
tinue to support all, even his most exceptionable acts? 

I say, continue to support them. For I infer, from ivliat I 
have seen, that the principle of removal, in its most odious 
form, has been sanctioned by the majority. "What does the 
Senate believe will be thought of its dignity and independence, 
in after time, when it will sanction (as in the case of the 
Treasurer of the United States) the removal, without cause, of 
a high public officer, whose appointment it only a few months 
before approved ? Does it imagine that the miserable sophistrv 
of that pliant tool, Felix Grundy, will justify it? According to 
him, the Senate can not look beyond the mere question of fit- 
ness of the person nominated ; the President acts upon his re- 
sponsibility, and there is no remedy but in impeachment ! Does 
he not see that he strips the body of one of its most important 
constitutional functions — that of operating as a check upon the 
executive ? Does he not see that the Senate, after making itself 
a particeps with the President in a dangerous and pernicious 
proceeding, will he a very unfit and unsafe tribunal to arraign 
him before for that identical proceeding? 

The consequence, I fear, will he, of this approbation in both 
houses of the worst acts of the President, that the Jackson por- 
tion of the public will be lulled into security, and believe that 
all is right. In this point of view, I have thought it of much 
importance that, when any great principle was involved (such 
as the appointment of editors, or removals without cause), the 
Senate would, show itself worthy of the esteem which it once 
enjoyed, by putting itself against the evils to be dreaded. 

You perceive no effect, at a distance, from the state of things 
which you describe at Washington. Witness the result in New 
Hampshire. 

If Mr. Calhoun really intends to set himself up in opposition 
to General Jackson, I should begin to think there was a pros- 
pect of some division that might lead to beneficial results. 

Do not imagine from any thing that I have said that I at all 

17 



258 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

despair of the Republic. I only fear that the day of soundness 
and sanity is more distant than you believe. 

Mr . Chilton's last letter on the comparative expenditures of 
the two Administrations, like his first, will do good. 

I shall not disappoint my friends in remaining still. I shall 
i iu more than ever at Ashland, the occupations of which I 
relish more than ever. 

Duraldc writes me that the Tariff resolution, which I informed 
you had passed the Senate of Louisiana unanimously, has passed 
the House with only seven dissentients. I sent you a copy of 
the resolution, which I hope you received. 

I heard nothing more, after I wrote you, of TVaggerman's op- 
position to you. I hope it will not take place. Our friends 
were very confident of your success, but you should go home 
after the session. Duralde thinks Roman will be elected Gov- 
ernor. 

I will thank you to remit me the amount you may receive 
from Mann, in a check of the office of Discount and Deposit, at 
Washington, on the Bank of the United States, at Philadelphia. 
My warmest regards to Mrs. Johnston. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Steamboat Telegraph, near Maysville, April 11, 1830. 

Dear Sir, — I would have written to you immediately upon 
my arrival in the United States if I had not heard that you had 
gone on a visit to New Orleans, to inform you that I had for- 
warded your letter to General . Bolivar, from Bogota, and that I 
had received a note from him acknowledging its reception and 
adding that there "was no answer." Herewith I send a pamph- 
let which I have lately published, in which you will find a letter 
addressed by me to the same distinguished character, to which 
also he did not think proper to reply. I could have inserted 
many interesting circumstances which L omitted from the fear of 
injuring persons who still remain subject to the power of the 
( iolombian Government. 

Accept for yourself and family my best respects. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 259 



MR. CLAY TO REV. JAMES K. WELCH. 

. \m>, April 17, 1830. 

Dear Sir, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your very 
friendly letter of the 5th instant, and to thank yon for the infor- 
mation which it contains, and for your kind endeavor to vindi- 
cate me from the aspersions to which \ have been exposed on 
account of my public conduct. I have almost daily proofs of 
the general conviction which prevails of my having hern 
wronged ; and I have full confidence that my fellow citizens 
will ultimately render me perfect justice. These good feelings 
were strongly manifested toward -me during a late visit I made 
to Louisiana. Every where I was received with warmth and 
cordiality, and, in some instances, with enthusiasm. When the 
passions lately so strongly excited, shall subside, and the people 
come to reflect on the past, and to reason upon the promises made 
by or for the successful Presidential candidate, and the shameful 
violation of all of them at Washington, they can not fail to come 
to right conclusions. 

I met Colonel Drake to-day and delivered him your message, 
as I will endeavor to recollect to do to the other gentlemen men- 
tioned by you. 

Accept my best wishes for the success of the cause in which 
you are engaged, and for your individual prosperity. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, April 18, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — We have heard with great pleasure of your 
safe arrival at your own home, after your interesting trip down 
the great river ; and we all enjoyed, as sincerely as you could 
have done, the tokens of regard and affection which the good 
people manifested toward you at the various points of your tour. 
More than all, it was gratifying to hear from Mr. Poinsett such 
excellent accounts of your health. 

The President means to be re-elected. He has meant so all 
along. Seeing this, Van Buren has been endeavoring to make 
a merit of persuading him to do so, on the ground of its being 
necessary to keep the party together. Calhoun is more than 



260 PEIVATB CORRESPONDENCE 

half reconciled to it from two considerations : first, he hardly feels 
as confident as he has done, of his own present strength ; second, 
he regards the chance of succession, in seven years, as pretty 
important. If any thing should prevent General Jackson from 
being a candidate for re-election, my hopes would now be ex- 
ceeding strong of beating both Van Buren and Calhoun. How 
it will be expedient for us to act, in case the present incumbent 
should actually be candidate again, we can better determine 
hereafter. My own firm belief is, that if we were to let the 
Administration, this session and the next, have their own way, 
and follow out their own principles, they would be so unpopular 
as that the General could not possibly be re-elected. I do not 
mean by this, that we should let them disturb the Tariff, or 
injure any other existing interest ; still less that we should, in 
the slightest degree, vote or act against our own principles. All 
these being safe, and all existing interests preserved, I still think 
if we leave to them to decide on new measures of internal im- 
provement, etc., according to their own will, they will soon find 
what the sense of the people is. But I forbear further talk. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, April 19, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 8th instant. I 
returned from Louisiana about three weeks ago. My visit to 
that State and to Mississippi, was full of gratification. .Not a 
single painful incident occurred. Every where my reception was 
warm and cordial, and sometimes enthusiastic. The Legislature 
of Louisiana paid me a compliment, the more estimable because 
it was spontaneous, and without previous concert. When I un- 
expectedly attended it, the whole body (Speaker and all), with- 
out distinction of party, rose to receive me. While I was in 
that State, its Senate passed unanimously a resolution in favor of 
the Tariff, which has since been concurred in by the House of 
Representatives, with only seven dissentients. Nothing could 
have surpassed the cordiality of my reception and entertainment 
at Natchez. At one of the' Largest public dinners I ever attended, 
1 found myself in the midst of aboul equal numbers of both 
parties. A Jackson man sat on my right, an Adams man on my 
left. From all that 1 learned, I should think that the vote of 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 261 

Louisiana would certainly be given me against any one, and 
that of Mississippi against anyone bul Jackson. &gains1 him 

also, if he continues, during the next two years, to lose his pop- 
ularity there in proportion to his loss this last year. 

A.s to the state of things at Washington, yon are probably 
well, if not better informed than 1 am. My friends, prior to the 
recent nomination in Pennsylvania, were sanguine, extremely 
sanguine, of success. They represent great animosity as exist- 
ing between the partisans of Calhoun and Van Buren, inso- 
much that each party prefers me to the other : and that there are 
not thirty members of Congress who desire Jackson's re-election. 

Events which may have already happened, or which may 
occur in the course of the residue of the present session of Con- 
gress, will throw great light on the future. If the three great 
States of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, should unite 
on any particular candidate, opposition to that candidate will 
be unavailing, in all probability. If there should he no such 
union, Jackson himself or either of the two prominent members 
of his party, may be beaten. Of the prospect of the supposed 
union, you can form as correct a conjecture as I can. 

Meantime I assure you, most sincerely, that I feel myself more 
and more weaned from public affairs. My attachment to rural 
occupation every day acquires more strength, and if it continues 
to increase another year as it has the last, I shall be fully pre- 
pared to renounce forever the strifes of public life. My farm is 
in fine order, and my preparations for the crop of the present 
year, are in advance of all my neighbors. I shall make a bet- 
ter farmer than statesman. And I find in the business of culti- 
vation, gardening, grazing, and the rearing of the various de- 
scriptions of domestic animals, the most agreeable resources. 

I presume your new Constitution will he adopted. It has in- 
corporated in it some very exceptionable elements of aristocracy. 
I should, nevertheless, vote for it, if I had a vote, as being, 
with all its defects, preferable to the old Constitution. I am cu- 
rious to learn those anecdotes occurring at Richmond, which 
you are afraid to intrust to the mail. I think a letter commu- 
nicating them, put under cover to the Honorable R. P. Letcher, 
at "Washington, would reach me in safety. 1 have never beeo 
able to comprehend Mr. Madison's course. At a distance, it ap- 
peared to me marked by some in< n<y. which I regretted. 

Mrs. Clay unites with me in best regards to Mrs. Broob 



262 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, April 24, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — Upon my return home from New Orleans, I 
found here your two favors of the 28th December last, and 6th 
ult. Although I met a vast accumulation of correspondence 
and of business, I should have immediately answered your let- 
ters but, to tell the truth, for my desire to see the issue of the 
elections in your Legislature. My anxious looks were directed 
toward Richmond, on account of yourself especially, and other 
friends. The papers have at length brought the intelligence I 
desired, and I oiler you my cordial congratulations on your elec- 
tion, which, under all circumstances, is as honorable as I hope 
it will prove satisfactory to you. You are not, I remark again, 
appointed President of the Court, but, considering every thing, 
I do not think you should be mortified or even regret that the 
choice and the responsibility have fallen on a younger man. It 
would have given me inexpressible pain if I could have be- 
lieved that your friendship to me, which has been of such long 
duration, and such great value, had affected you injuriously. 

Important events at home and abroad have happened since 
I last wrote you. These changes in Europe are so rapid that 
we have scarcely time to speculate on one before it is succeeded 
and supplanted by another. You will have heard probably by 
the time this letter reaches you, the decision of the question of 
a general war in Europe. I regret that such a war now seems 
to me almost inevitable. That regret will be diminished if we 
can remain at peace. But if there should lie a general war. 
embracing England, she will make every endeavor to involve 
us in it. Such a purpose was openly avowed to me by men 
high in authority, when I was in England, on the contingency 
supposed. 

Among the incidents at home, the correspondence between 
the President and Van Buren, is perhaps the most important oc- 
currence during the late session of Congress. I think it lowers 
them ! ill, although confining our consideration to the parlies 
to the contn . Mr. Calhoun must be allowed to have ob- 

tained the advantag* . 

What course he may lake in respect to the next election I am 
uninform* d. Prom the knowledge I possess of his character 
and disposition, I believe he will be regulated altogether by his 



OF HENRY CLAY. 268 

estimate of the probability of successful opposition to Jackson. 
If he thinks he can be defeated by himself or another, he "will 
oppose his re-election directly or collaterally, according to cir- 
cumstances. If he believes he can be defeated by no one, he 
will support his re-election, make a meril of a magnanimous sac- 
rifice of his sense of his wrongs, and endeavor to enlist the 
gratitude and sympathies of the Jackson parly to elevate bun- 
self hereafter. In any event, we can not fail to profit by the 
controversy. 

Mr. Crawford's conduct, in respect to myself, surprised me. 
That he should, at the very period of holding such language 
toward mc as he did in his letters, have been addressing letters 
to others containing the most improper expressions, betrays great 
duplicity. But, after his letter to me of March, in the last year. 
ought we to be surprised at anything he may do ? I have never 
written to him since I received that • letter, nor do I desire any 
correspondence with him again. I shall not, however, permit 
the publication of his letter of March. It could only be justified 
by some public good, and I see none that it would accomplish. 
The public feeling of Louisiana in regard to the President is all 
that we could desire. Not a doubt can be entertained of the 
vote of that State by any one acquainted with it. There have 
been numerous changes, and some of very influential individuals. 
In Kentucky, both parties are preparing i igorous campaign. 

Our friends are confident of carrying majorities both in the 
General Assembly and in the House of !! pr mtatives. I was 
so greatly mortified with the issue of our last August election, 
that I am unwilling cither to indulge or inspire hopes. I can not, 
however, but believe that nothing but a corrupt and most exten- 
sive use of money can defeat us. Of that there is some reason 
to fear. 

As to the issue of the contest generally, my opinion remains 
the same that it has been for the last eighteen months. If Jack- 
son loses cither New York, Pennsylvania, or Virginia, he will be 
ited. If he unites the votes vi' all three of those States, he 
will succeed. And I have generally suppos d that the degrees 
of probability of loss to him of th< I ites were in the order in 

which I have placed them. If I am right, he is most certain of 
Virginia. Of course I am unable to estimate the effect upon her 
of recent transactions, especially the correspondence and votes 
of your Senators. 



204 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

The movement in Philadelphia is strong and encouraging. It 
remains to be seen whether it will be seconded in other parts of 
the State. I am afraid it will be. In New York some progress 
has been made toward effecting an union of the various parties 
opposed to the present Administration, but the problem is yet to 
be solv< 1 whether such an union can be accomplished. 

The whole case presents one encouraging view. Jackson 
has lost, is losing, and must continue to lose. If the ratio of his 
loss hereafter shall equal what it has been in the two last years, 
he will be defeated. 

I am much pressed to visit the north this summer ; and al- 
though my judgment is opposed to any journey having a political 
object, or which might be construed into such an object, I have 
been somewhat shaken in my resolution by the great anxiety 
manifested. But I believe I shall resist it, and remain in Ken- 
tucky, where (will you believe it ?) I am likely to make an ex- 
cellent farmer. I am almost tempted to believe that I have here- 
tofore been altogether mistaken in my capacity, and that I have, 
though late, found out the vocation best suited to it. 

I received from our friend Call a very kind letter, and I have 
to request that you will ask him to consider this equally in- 
tended for his eye and your own. It has been a long time since 
I heard from him, but I see nobody from Richmond of whom I 
do not inquire about him ; and I learn from all that he retains 
generally his good spirits, and his attachments with great con- 
stancy ; of mine to him and you I pray you both to be fully 
persuaded. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, April 80, 1 

My pf.ar Sir, — I received your favor of the 13th instant, 
communicating the rejection of Hill, and your expectation that 
Kendall will follow the same fate. This latter anticipation, from 
what others tell me, I apprehend, has not been realized. I at- 
tach some consequence to the rejection of these men. Who is 
the uncertain Senator? Is he from Indiana? If he be. it is to 
be attributed to his approaching election. If my information 
from that State be correct, he need not fear the issue, unless h<? 
proves treacherous to our cause. 



OF HENRY (LAN. 265 

I observe that you regard the movements of Harrisburg and 
Albany as putting Jackson in nomination. They may bear that 

interpretation, but they are also susceptible of another. The 
terms in which the two caucuses express themselves do not 
ssarily import the presentation of Jackson as a candidate. 
May not the movements be regarded as a stratagem of Van 
Buren to gain time, to disconcert his rival, to concentrate the 
Jackson party upon himself, and to come out, at a suitable time, 
as a candidate ? 

Ask Mr. Webster to show you a letter which I wrote him a 
few days ago, stating a proposition which I received from Mr. 
Crawford, and be pleased to regard that matter as strictly con- 
fidential, resting between you two. Mr. Crawford, supposing 
him to be in the secrets of Van Buren and his faction, does not 
appear, on the 31st of March, to have suspected that Jackson 
would be a candidate. 

You inform me that my friends contemplate taking some de- 
cisive measures in regard to me, before they separate. I shall 
acquiesce in whatever decision they may make. If Jackson 
should be a candidate, and can unite upon himself the three 
States of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, opposition to 
him will be unavailing. If either of those States can be de- 
tached from his support, I think he can be beaten. Whether 
that be practicable or not, you have better means, and are other- 
wise more competent to judge, than I am. 

The disadvantage of delay, if we mean to act, is the uncer- 
tainty in which our friends among the great body of the people, 
are left. Already I have been frequently spoken to, and some- 
times have been written to, to know if I am a candidate. Of 
course I give but one answer, which is, that I shall never present 
myself as a candidate. 



G. W. FEATHERSTOXII we.U TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, May 1, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — The appearance of our friend. General Van 
Rensselaer here, within a few days, and some other incidents, 
have induced me to write you a few lines, before a contempl 
voyage to Europe takes place. I was exceedingly pleased with 
the cheerful accounts General Van Rensselaer gave me of your 



266 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

health, spirits, and well-deserved popularity at the West and South. 
The value of my political attachment to you consists in its dis- 
interestedness. Having no selfish views, I am not obliged to 
seek selfish connections. Independent of my ardent wishes for 
the prosperity of the whole human race, I have lived too long 
here, and been too nearly and dearly connected with the United 
States to see with indifference its best interests the sport of irre- 
sponsible men, who owe their distinction to the temporary delu- 
sion of popular favor, and who know not how to vindicate their 
claims to distinction, in the eyes of men of sense and honor. 
My intercourse with you has always been very frank. I may 
never see you again, though I hope I shall. Wherever I am, I 
shall be most happy to see the Government of this country in 
your hands. I have been long satisfied you are the man America 
wants. * * * * * * * 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Lesixgton, May 4, 1S30. 
Dear Sir, — I received to-day your favor of the 29th ult. I 
had received from Mr. Yates a similar letter to that which he 
addressed to you, which I immediately answered, communicating 
all the information I could give him upon the subject to which it 
related. I therefore now return his letter to you, with the ac- 
companying papers. 

There is not the smallest ground for the intimation which 
you have received of Mr. Van Buren being disposed to decline 
in favor of Mr. Calhoun. On the contrary, there is the greatest 
animosity prevailing between these two rivals and their respect- 
ive partisans. The late movements at Harrisburg and Albany, 
are well understood to have been prompted by Mr. Van Buren, 
to arrest the progress which Mr. Calhoun was making with the 
Jackson party, and 'I have no doubt that they arc not to be taken 
as evidence that Jackson will ult; , be a candidate. 

It is impossible that any reception could have been more 
warm and cordial than that which was given me below. 

I am very busy farming, to which I am becoming every day 
more and more attached. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 267 



MB. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

A bland. May 0, 1880. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favors of the 28th and 29th 
lilt. I do not think that the object of Colonel Benton and 
Colonel Hayne, in detaching the West from New England, has 
been at all promoted by their speeches on Foote's resolution. It 
has been well understood, and I think has entirely failed. How- 
ever extensively their speeches have been circulated, they have 
not been so widely or so generally read as Mr. Webster's, and 
his triumph in that matter has been complete. Great aid has 
been afforded to him by the speeches of Mr. Sprague and Mr. 
Holmes. We are waiting anxiously, however, to see yours, and 
I hope you will not omit to send me the proof-sheets promised 
by you. 

I am rejoiced at the passage in the House of Representatives, 
of the bill for the Maysville road. I sincerely hope you are 
correct in your anticipation of the concurrence of the Senate. 
The South will of course be opposed to it. If, as I hope, the 
New England Senators shall generally vote for it, there will 
be a fine commentary upon Colonel Benton's text. We shall 
then be able practically to know who are our real friends. Give 
my respects to our friends from New England, and tell them not 
to deprive us of the benefit of this weapon. The road, considered 
as a section of one extending from the Muskingum or Scioto, 
through Kentucky and Tennessee, to the Gulf of Mexico, is 
really of national importance. We observe that the New Eng- 
land delegation well entertained the measure in the House, and 
we trust that similar support will be given to it by her senators. 

I have much information from both ends of the State of New 
York. It substantially corroborates the letters which you sent 
me. There seems to be perfect chaos in that State, and no one 
now can sec what will come of it. If the friends of the late 
Administration, the workingmen parly, and the anti-masons, 
should unite, they will compose a majority. Is it not probable 
that they will ? The anti-masons will bring out Granger. I 
should think that the friends of the late Administration would 
support him against Troop or Foote ; and even supposing those 
parties only were to co-operate. Granger would be elected. 

By the time of the close of the Tariff debate, which Mr. Mc- 
Dullie, I suppose, has precipitated, you will have a clearer view 



268 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of the whole ground. Its effect can not fail to widen the 
breach between the sections of the Jackson party. 

I have entire confidence in the discretion of my friends as to 
the course which they may mark out. If Mr. Calhoun should 
be announced as a candidate, it will be clear. If not, the ques- 
tion will be as to the consequences of delay, or immediate ac- 
tion. The first part of it (delay) involves a consideration of the 
discouragement or separation of our friends which might ensue, 
and the second the concentration of all the fragments of the 
Jackson party upon Jackson, which might be the result. I shall 
be glad to hear from you soon. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTOX. 

Ashland, Ma}- 10, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — I received to-day your favor of the 30th ult., 
with the first part of the proof-sheets of your speech, which I 
have perused with much satisfaction. The editor of " The 
Reporter" promises to publish it in his next week's paper. With 
the candid its views will be regarded as large and liberal, and 
its vindication complete. 

I regret Hendrick's course. It was not necessary to secure, 
but may endanger his re-election. He was already distrusted in 
his State, but was forgiven, or rather there was a disposition to 
overlook his course, in consideration of the circumstances under 
which he was placed. But if he votes for the printers, I think 
it probable he will be abandoned. 

I am very anxious, as you may well suppose, about the pass- 
age of the Maysville bill. I hope our New England friends will 
not desert us in that measure. Their support of it will be worth 
a thousand of Benton's speeches. 



MR. VAUGHAN TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, May 13, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — I have procured for you from England a 
single-barrel gun, and with a percussion-lock, after having con- 
sulted witli our friend Letcher, who was of opinion that you 
would paler it to the common lock. You will find in the case 



OF HENBY CLAY. 269 

containing the gun a plentiful supply of percussion caps. In con- 
sequence of Judge Clark informing me that an opportunity of- 
fered of sending the gun to you, I sent it yesterday to his l< 
ings, and I I rust that it is already on its way to Kentucky. I 
only hope that you will be as well satisfied with it as I am with 
the excellent rifle which you have presented to me, and which 
I am proud to have, as a memorial of your friendship. 

It is expected that this session of Congress m ill close on the 
31st instant, and I shall take the opportunity of sending to ^lis. 
Clay the lithograph print of a dog, executed by the son < f 
Christopher Hughes, by our friend Mr. Clark or Mr. Letcher, 
and which has been due to her for so long a time. 

I am happy to infer from what I read in the newspapers about 
your movements, that your health is very much improved. It 
will give me great pleasure to meet you again, and, with kind 
regards to Mrs. Clay and Johnny, believe me, etc. 



MRS. ERWIN (ANNE B.) TO HER FATHER, MR. CLAY. 

Shelbyville, May 15, 1830. 

I hasten, my dear father, to answer your kind letter of the 
1st, and to assure you that mamma and yourself can not desire 
that we should he with you more than we both wish it. Mr. 
Erwin always spoke of our joining you early in the summer, 
but his father being compelled to go to Georgia in a few days, 
he now feels himself obliged to remain here until he returns. 
We shall, however, be with you the last of July or early in Aug- 
ust, and I hope we shall not then be separated for a great while, 
as we shall be guided pretty much by your movements. 

I am happy to hear that you have been so good as to pur- 
chase us a pair of horses, as we are now without a good pair, 
intending to purchase when we should be in Lexington. \ 
we shall not want them until then, you will please keep them 
for us. The pony you speak of has, I presume, been raised on 
the farm; it will, therefore, be doubly prized by me. Mr. Er- 
win wrote you, I believe, that lie had sold your horses. I en- 
joyed a great many good rides from them, as we had just then 
purchased a servant who proved to be an excellent carriagi - 
driver, besides being a very good boy in other respects. 

Mr. Erwin and his friend, Mr. Denton, arrived on the 10th, 



270 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

four or five days earlier than I expected them. They were not 
so fortunate as I was in getting up all the way by water, but 
they were detained at the mouth of the Cumberland, and then 
had a most tedious trip by land to Nashville. 

I was a little surprised to see, by the last papers, uncle Por- 
ter Clay's marriage announced, although I presume it was a 
very suitable match, so far as age is concerned. 

My little children have grown very much since you saw them. 
Henry now talks quite plain, and James runs about every where, 
and begins to say a few words. He has fattened so much since 
we have been here that he is becoming quite a beauty, at least, 
for his opportunities, not having any to inherit from either side 
of the house. 

Father Erwin requested me to remember him affectionately 
to mamma and yourself. Mr. Erwin joins me in love to all the 
family both in town and at home. Believe me always, my dear 
father, your devoted daughter. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Black Rock, May 23. 1830. 
My dear Sir, — I have noticed, with great satisfaction, the ac- 
counts of the numerous demonstrations of confidence and re- 
spect shown to you by the people of the South, during your 
late tour ; and I feel equal pleasure in assuring you that the 
same sentiments that animate your Southern friends, are enter- 
tained, and I trust in a still higher degree, by the citizens gen- 
erally in the Northern States ; and that these kind and partial 
feelings have been, and still are, constantly increasing, as oppor- 
tunity is ailbrdcd for comparing and contrasting the professions 
and acts of the present men in power, with those of their prede- 
cessors. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, May 23, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 10th instant was safely 
conveyed to me through the friendly channel to which you 
committed it, and I have perused its contents with much inter- 
est. The project of Mr. Van Buren, and his partisans in Vir- 



OF llKNItV CLAY. 271 

ginia, of attaching that State to his support upon the ground of 
an overthrow of the Bank of the United States, I should suppose 
was frustrated, for the pre i at, by the events which have oc- 
curred at Washington, on that subject. The President's m 

.in referring to it, committed two radical errors: First, it 
was premature; and in the second place, he brought forward a 
rival institution, far worss than the Bank of the United Si 
can be supposed to he by its most violent enemies. A compar- 
ison has been naturally made between the two institutions, and 
the result of it has been every where the same. The reports 
of the two committees of Congress have been widely circulated, 
and have confirmed the unfavorable impression which that part 
of the message produced, when it was first published. It is too 
soon yet to entertain, much less decide, on the question of the 
renewal of the charter. We have yet to acquire the experience 
of five years, which may bring about important developments. 
The national debt will, in the meantime, be paid, the duties re- 
duced, etc., etc. 

I have no intention of visiting the North, or any other place, 
this season, with any political object. I am urgently solicited 
to go to almost every quarter of the Union. If I were to yield 
to these entreaties, I should be perpetually traveling. My own 
judgment is decided, that I ought to go nowhere for any polit- 
ical purpose, but remain at home. Should I make any excursions 
this summer, they will relate entirely to business or to my 
health. 

I have received a most singular letter from Mr. Crawford, of 
which I beg, however, you will speak to no one, as I can not 
but think, from the nature of the proposal which it contains, it 
indicates some want of self-possession. He says, that he 
ceives from the papers, that Mr. Calhoun, Van Buren, and my- 
self, will be run for the next Presidency; that his friends also 
think of bringing him forward ; that no one candidate would be 
elected ; but that, if the contest be limited to the three first, Mr. 
A r an Buren would he finally elected by the Souse of Represent- 
atives; that I should not get a vote in New England, which 
would support Mr. Van Buren ; and that all the South would go 
for Mr. Calhoun. Therefore, he proposes that I should not lie 
brought forward, but support him, whereby he would get the 
votes of all the Western States, which, with the aid of Virginia, 
North Carolina, Georgia, Delaware, New Jersey, and probably 



272 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Maryland, with some few other States, would secure his election. 
Then, he says. I would, of course, come again into the cabinet, 
and finally succeed him! He intimates that his friends may 
make a similar proposal to Mr. Van Buren, but he prefers that I 
should accede to it. He supposes that General Jackson will not 
be a2;ain a candidate. I have not answered this most extraordi- 
nary letter, which bears date the 31st day of March last. I shall 
not answer it. I could not answer it in terms consistent with 
the friendship which I once bore to Mr. Crawford. 

I think Mr. Calhoun has sealed his fate by his recent vote 
for Kendall. He had previously boasted to some of my friends 
that he had constantly adhered to principle ; that he would still 
pursue it. and that he disapproved the system of proscription, 
and the appointment of editors, etc. Now it so happens, that a 
finer opportunity could not have occurred to test the sincerity of 
these declarations. Kendall was a printer, and, besides, a man 
of unenviable character. Yet, Mr. Calhoun's casting vote saved 
him ! I knew, weeks before the nomination was decided, that 
it depended upon Mr. Calhoun's vote ; and, knowing him as 
well as I do, I stated to some of my friends what the issue would 
be. It is remarkable that, weeks before the event, Kendall 
wrote to some of his Frankfort correspondents, that, if the Sen- 
ate was full, it would be equally divided, and that he would get 
Mr. Calhoun's vote. This fact ought to be generally known. 

I perceive that your new Constitution is adopted. I noticed 
the provision in relation to the judiciary, both on account of the 
principle which it involves, and as it affected you. I most sin- 
cerely wish you may be re-appointed ; and, considering the sta- 
bility which has generally characterized your State, I presume 
you will be. If you submit the question to the consideration of 
e who best know you, they will be unanimous for your re- 
election. Twenty years hence it will be time enough to talk 
of old age, and its too frequent concomitants. 

I have received several copies of the new edition of Algernon 
Sidney sent me by Mr. White. I wish that the principles which 
they so eloquently illustrate and establish, could be every where 
diffused. Bolivar appears to be reading us a lesson on the same 
subject, which ought not to be lost. I hope you approved of my 
letter to him. recently published. 

As to the other publication to which you refer, I can not so 
well judge as you can, as to the most fit time of its appearance. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 278 

I should, however, think that it would not be too early after the 
adjournment of Congress. 

I can not return this letter through the channel that you sent 
yours, for an obvious reason. 



MB. CRAWFORD TO MR. CLAY. 

Wood I.aw.v, March 31, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — I perceive by the newspapers that your name, 
Mr. Van Buren's and Mr. Calhoun's names, arc likely to he run 
for the next Presidency, in the event of General Jackson's not 
being a candidate. My friends are also solicitous that my name 
should be put in nomination. I do not profess to know much of 
public opinion, but I am very sure that if four names are run 
for the Presidency, no election will be made by the electoral 
colleges. If your name, Mr. Yan Buren's, and Mr. Calhoun's 
name, should be held up for that office, I am under the impres- 
sion that Mr. Van Buren would be elected ; for, giving you all 
the Western and South-western votes, and Mr. Calhoun the votes 
of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, which are 
all the votes that his most sanguine friends can claim for him, 
Mr. Van Buren would still have a majority of the colleges, unless 
you could divide the New England votes with him. This might 
happen for aught I know, but I do not expect it. In the first 
place, I think it probable that Mr. Adams" interest in New Eng- 
land would not be concentrated upon you. 1st. Because the 
men who would support Mr. Adams from principle, would prob- 
ably be opposed to you. Mr. Adams and yourself are so differ- 
ent in manners, habits, sentiments, and principles, that it is not 
probable that you cau be supported by the same men. Nothing 
but this discrepancy between you, could have given the vote of 
Ohio against Mr. Adams in the late election. 2d. In the elec- 
tion of 1824, almost every, man of respectable standing in New 
England was against Mr. Adams, yet he got every vote in those 
States by a majority of five sixths. My impression, therefore, is, 
that y . will not get a vote in New England. It is true Mr. 
Van Buren does not live in New England, but he lives near it. 
and you live a great way from it, and that circumstance will in 
all probability be decisive. 

It has occurred to me that if you are desirous o{ filling the 

18 



274 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Presidency, the most likely way of success will be to avoid the 
contest for the next Presidency. If you do this, and my name 
should be substituted for yours, and receive your support, I pre- 
sume there would be no doubt of my receiving the vote of the 
Western and South-western States. To this vote might be safely 
added that of Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Delaware, 
and perhaps Maryland. The aggregate would fall little short of 
v a majority, and the remainder could hardly fail to be received 
from the States north and east of those mentioned. In the event 
of success you would come again into the Cabinet, and could 
hardly fail of success when I retired. Your union with Mr. 
Adams has effectually destroyed your popularity in the Atlantic 
States south of the Chesapeake. I have even injured my own 
standing in this State, by defending you against the charge of 
corrupt bargaining. If such is your standing in this State, you 
can well imagine what it is in the other Southern Atlantic 
States. Do not suppose that I feel any solicitude upon the 
subject of this letter. I feci none, but supposing from what I 
have seen in the public papers, that you may feel some, it oc- 
curred to me that the most certain mode of gratifying that feel- 
ing, was to adopt the course which I have suggested. If you 
should be of a different opinion, let the matter rest where it is, 
and there will no harm have been clone. On the contrary, 
should you concur in the suggestion I have made, I shall be 
happy to hear from you as soon as leisure will permit. 

P. S. It is possible that my friends at Washington may 
make the same suggestion to Mr. Van Buren. Should it be ac- 
cepted, it is probable the same result would be effected a>s to 
myself, but I should rather it should take place with you. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, May 29, 1 830. 
My dear Sir, — We arc all with the foot in the stirrup, and are 
not leaving in a very composed state. The passage of the In- 
dian bill, and the rejection of the Maysvillc Turnpike bill, have 
occasioned unusual excitement. The quarrel, yesterday, be- 
tween Stansbury and others who voted for the bill, and Polk, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 275 

Bell, etc., was very Mann. There is more ill blood raised, I 
should think, than would easily be quieted again. 

We think all recent occurrences have been quite favorable, 

and that the present prospect is chi . We have had no formal 

meeting. After much consideration, that idea was given up. 
We found it difficult to assemble a few friends without giving 
offense ; or a great number without the danger of attracting too 
much notice. We have had, however, a very full and free in- 
terchange of opinions, for the last three weeks, and arc all har- 
monious in purpose and design, and in good spirits. We incline 
to think no formal nominations at present advisable, though 
friends press us to such a measure from divers quarters of the 
country. It has seemed to us, on the whole, that a formal 
nomination would not be popular enough in its character and 
origin, to do good. It would be immediately proclaimed to be 
the act of your friends acting at your instance. It would excite 
jealousies on the one hand, which are now fast dying away, and 
on the other, check discontents and sclysms among our oppo- 
nents, from which much is now to be hoped. Such is our 
view. 

I am much pressed to assent to a nomination of you by the 
Massachusetts Legislature now in session. But to this I steadily 
object, on the ground that every body knows we arc perfectly 
safe and strong in Massachusetts, and a nomination there would 
only raise the cry of coalition revived. It has seemed to me the 
proper scene for the first formal action is Maryland. Her Legis- 
lature is elected in October. Our friends have the utmost confi- 
dence they will carry the State. Indeed there can be little doubt 
of it. In that event, the Maryland Legislature, next December, 
will occupy a position from which they can speak to advantage. 
Without detail, you will see, I think, at once, many advantages 
in a nomination from this quarter. None could be more favora- 
ble, unless it be New York, or Pennsylvania, neither of which, 
I fear, is as likely to be so soon ready for it. 

I hope you will think that, under all circumstances, we have 
done wisely in doing nothing. If you run against General Jack- 
son, there will be an election by the electors ; and. as you justly 
state, General Jackson will be chosen, unless either Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, or New York can be detached from him. Of the 
three, I have, at present, most hope of New York, and Least of 
Virginia. Late occurrences will strengthen General Jackson in 



276 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Virginia, and weaken him much in Pennsylvania, and perhaps 
also in New York. I am in hopes that '•' working men." " anti- 
mason," and " anti-auction men," etc., etc., will break down the 
regency. This we shall know in October. If it should turn 
out so, New York will then open a very fair field. For myself. 
I reckon on recent events as having insured us Maryland, Ohio, 
Kentucky and Indiana. This is one very good breadth. South 
of it I look for nothing but Louisiana, every thing north of it is 
worth a contest. 

I hope your friends at the West keep a steady regard to Mis- 
souri. I am told there is a good chance, or some chance, of Mr. 
Barton's re-election. This is matter of very great importance. 
Nothing, indeed, is more momentous to the country than the ap- 
proaching election of Senators to the next Congress. 

On the whole, my dear sir, I think a crisis is arriving, or 
rather has arrived. I think you can not be kept back from the 
contest. The people will bring you out, nolens volens. Let 
them do it. I advise you, as you will be much watched, to stay 
at home ; or, if you wish to travel, visit your old friends in Vir- 
ginia., We should all be glad to see you at the North, but not 
now. You will hear from the North, every town and village in 
it, on the 4th of July. Parties must, now, necessarily, be started 
out anew ; and the great ground of difference will be Tariff and 
Internal Improvements. You are necessarily at the head of one 
party, and General Jackson will be, if he is not already, identi- 
fied -with the other. The question will be put to the country. 
Let the country decide it. 

I had intended to say a word about myself, but it would be to 
make a long letter still longer. When I came here it was my 
purpose to follow your example, and to vacate my seat at the end 
of this session. Events have suspended the execution of that 
purpose. How I shall think of it when I get home, I do not know. 

I pray kind remembrance to Mrs. Clay, and beg to assure you 
of my unaltered regard and attachment. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, Juno 8, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — We are all shocked and mortified by the re- 
jection of the Maysville road and other events occurring at the 
close of the late session. Meetings of the people are contem- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 277 

plated in several counties in this quarter, to '/we. expression to 
public sentiment and feelings. At those meetings it has been 
suggested that the public sentiment may be expressed in terms 
of strong disapprobation of the act of the President. 2d. In 
favor of Internal Improvement. 3d. Disapproving Mr. Bibbs' 
conduct and recommending to the Legislature his recall. 4th. 
Approbation of Mr. Letcher, particularly, and of the other mem- 
bers who voted with him. 5th. Against the nullifying doctrines 
of the South. 6th. Against the re-election of Mr. Rowan, be- 
cause he supports them, is opposed to Internal Improvements, and 
the Tariff, in opinion, and has supported the most obnoxious 
nominations. 7th. Proposing an amendment to the Constitution, 
substituting a majority of all the members elected to Congress, 
instead of two thirds, to pass a bill returned by the President. 
This is right I think, on principle. Your own reflections will 
suggest the immense advantages that we shall derive from sup- 
porting this amendment, while our opponents will oppose it. It 
is thought by my friends that these public, meetings will furnish 
suitable occasions for making a nomination for the next Presi- 
dency, and recommending to the next Legislature to second and 
support it. They urge that this will be a popular measure, and 
not one of caucus agency. That the nomination connects itself 
naturally with the question of Internal Improvements. That 
the time has come. That Congress having adjourned, no counter- 
acting measure can be adopted by members of Congress at 
Washington. That other States look to Kentucky for the first 
movement. That it will have good effect on the August elec- 
tions. That it can do no harm, and may do much good, etc. I 
think there is much force in these suggestions. Will you have 
a meeting in Macon ? If you do it will have beneficial conse- 
quences that there should be as many meetings as practicable in 
adjoining counties. Let me hear from you; and believe always 
that I am with constant and cordial regard yours, etc. 

P. S. My opinion is that, with powerful, bold, and decided 
action, much may be made of the events of the moment. 



278 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MK. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTOX. 

Lexington, June 14, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — Not knowing for some time past where to ad- 
dress yon, I have omitted to write ; but your letter from Wash- 
ington of the 5th instant having informed me that you will bo 
at Louisville, I commit this letter to the chance of reaching you. 
I regret that I could not have the pleasure of seeing you here. 

I am perfectly contented with the course my friends took at 
Washington, and I think it was the wisest. 

The decisions of the President in respect to Internal Improve- 
ment have produced great effect in this quarter of Kentucky. 
The larger number of all who supported Jackson, in the circle 
of my immediate acquaintance, have left him. Few but despe- 
rate leaders remain to him. Measures have been devised, and 
are now in a train of execution, to give expression to public 
sentiment. It is contemplated to disapprove of the exercise of 
the Veto, the Indian bill, etc, and to propose an amendment of 
the Constitution, requiring only a majority of both Houses of 
Congress (of all elected to each) to pass a bill returned by the 
President. I think such an amendment right, and I attach much 
importance to the discussion which it will provoke. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS 15ROOKE. 

Ashland, June 1C, 1S30. 
My dear Sir, — I received both your late favors of the 1th and 
6th instant. In regard to Mr. Crawford's strange letter, I could 
not answer it without violating the regard 1 once had for him 
and the respect due to myself, and therefore I did not answer it. 
I think his proposal was insulting and derogatory. I do not ap- 
prehend that the injury to me, which you fear from my silence, 
can accrue ; 1st, because he says in his letter — li Do not suppose 
that I feel any solicitude upon the subject of the letter. I feel 
none. But supposing from what I have seen in the public 
press that you may feel some, it occurred to me that the most 
certain mode of gratifying that feeling was to adopt the course 
which I have sua. If you should be of a different opin- 

ion, let the matter rest where it is, and there will have been no 
harm done. On the contrary, should you concur in the suggos- 



OF HEKBY CLAY. 279 

lion I have made, I will be happy to hc;ir from you as soon as 
leisure will permit." This, you will agree, is a strong manifest- 
' ation of sangfroid and disinterestedness. Hut it also evinces 
that no answer was expected in the evenl of my disapproval of 
the proposal, which he seems to have anticipated as possible. 

In the second place, I have communicated the contents of the 
letter, in confidence, to a sufficient number, to protect me against 
the presumption of any assent of mine, from my silence. Be- 
sides, there will be no sort of evidence, direct or collateral, of 
such assent. It seems to me, that when a base proposition is 
made, as I regard this, the most proper treatment of it is silent 
contempt. 

As to publishing his letter, although I feel no objection of 
honor or of confidence which forbids it, I incline to think that 
under all circumstances it had better not now be done. Mr. 
Crawford is not, nor likely to be, formidable. His friends, 
though few of them were mine, are generally respectable. 
Their feelings would be affected. He has been high in public 
confidence. Ought that to be shown as having been misplaced, 
especially as he may not be in his right mind ? 

In regard to Blair's letter, I took some time ago public ground, 
from which I think I ought not to recede. I stated that I would 
not publish it, at the instance of Mr. Amos Kendall, but that it 
might be seen by any gentleman, and it was seen by many, and 
by him. though not of that number. The infamous story is now 
stale, and it can not be revived, even by Thomas Ritchie. I 
long since resolved to say nothing more to the public about it. 
I feared indeed that some portion of it [the public] may have 
considered me to have manifested too much sensitiveness con- 
cerning it. Such, I am sure, would be the judgment of many, 
if I were, in any form, again to present myself to the public re- 
specting that matter. 

Great sensation has been produced in this quarter about the 
President's course relative to Internal Improvements. Public 
meetings of the people, in various places, are about to be had, at 
which spirited resolves, etc., will be passed. They mean to at- 
tack the Veto, by proposing an amendment of the Constitution, 
requiring only a majority of all elected to each branch of Con- 
gress, instead of two thirds of a house, to pass a returned bill. 
Such an amendment I think right. If (' 'ill on 

their own reasons, and again pass the same bill, after a full con- 



280 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

sideration of the reasons of the President in opposition to it, the 
bill ought to he a law. The policy of proposing such an 
amendment, in the present condition of parties, is obvious. If 
our opponents agree to it, it will be adopted. If they oppose it, 
we shall get the weather guage of them. Will you mention 
this matter to Pleasants ? As he and others of my friends in 
Virginia approve of the recent exercise of the Veto, there may 
be some objection in espousing an amendment of the Constitu- 
tion, which has been suggested by what we deem an abuse. 
But if, on principle, you should agree with us that the amend- 
ment is proper, it might be supported by you without reference 
to the late exercise of power. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

Camp Eaton, July 4, 1830. 

My dear Father, — The anniversary of the Declaration of 
Independence was celebrated here on yesterday. From peculiar 
considerations I again appeared before an audience of between 
four and five hundred, and was once more eminently successful. 
At the dinner given by the corps, at which about one hundred 
invited guests were present, the wit and eloquence of the sons 
of Kentucky were toasted with applause. But the toast of Mr. 
Skinner, the editor of " The American Farmer and Turf Reg- 
ister," " The orator of the day, in the language of the turf, blood 
will show itself," drew forth enthusiastic cheers. Do not ac- 
cuse me. my father, of too broad an exhibition of vanity. I con- 
fess that I, in common with all my fellow-men, am subjected to 
that besetting sin of the human race. But I have thought that, 
to you, a candid expression of my sentiments would be far more 
acceptable than any affected air of indifference that I might force 
from my self-love. 



MU. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 



Columbus, July 19, 1830. 
My dear Sir, — I received your obliging favor of the 13th 
instant, and, at the same time, the paper containing the proceed- 
ings of the meeting in Macon. I perused the preamble and 
resolutions with much satisfaction. They appear to me to be 



OF HENRY CLAY. 281 

very appropriate and judicious. I find but one sentiment pre- 
vailing here in respect to the late popular movements in Ken- 
tucky, and that is, that they are very proper, must do good, and 
can do no harm. It was well enough, for a certain time, to 
leave the other party to its own divisions, hut that time is now- 
passed. The fact can not, and need not be concealed from that 
party, that an opposition will be made to the re-election of its 
chief. So far as that fact will prevent the creation of divisions 
in its ranks, that consequence will attend it whether we act or 
not ; and by not acting, I apprehend, more loss among our friends 
than gain among those of the other side. 

I have seen here many persons from New England and New 
York, as well as all parts of this State. Mr. Creighton has just 
got home, after having made the tour of the former, passing from 
the city of New York to Buffalo. Without troubling you with 
the details, the information derived from all these sources is highly 
encouraging. I shall leave this place in a few days to return 
home by the way of Cincinnati. 



BARON DE KRUDENER TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, August 10, 1830. 

Sir, — I can not depart from this country without taking leave 
from you, and offering once more to you my thanks for the un- 
common kindness which I experienced from you during the first 
part of my residence in this country, and through which, this 
stage of my diplomatic career, in America, was made so pleasant, 
so easy, and so honorable to me. The Emperor has granted me 
a permission to leave my post. I should certainly not have 
availed myself of it with so much eagerness had circumstances 
not interrupted the relations in which I had the honor of stand- 
ing with you. At the time when these circumstances occurred, 
they were considered by me as a very untoward event. But 
these disagreeable views of the past have been changed into 
future prospects of such brightness, that it remains only for me 
to praise the divine Providence, and to admire its splendid in- 
terference in the affairs of your nation. 

Having notified my departure to Mr. Van Buren, and consider- 
ing myself now as a mere traveler and spectator, I feel no re- 
morse in expressing to you my decided partiality, and my hope 



282 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of seeing the Presidential chair, and the Federal Government, 
restored by you to their former dignity. You know, my dear 
sir, enough of my independence of mind to he convinced that 
this language is dictated by no other feelings than those of con- 
viction and sincerity. 

Accept, sir, my best wishes for your personal and political 
prosperity, and the expression of my devotedness and great 
respect. 

I beg to be remembered to our common friend, the excellent 
Mr. Letcher. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, August 17, 1830. 
My dear Sir. — I received your letter of the 20th of July. A 
letter, purporting to have been written by Mr. Jefferson to some 
manufacturer in Massachusetts, has been recently published in 
the "Literary Subaltern." It first caught my eye in the public 
prints, when I was recently on my way to Columbus, and I con- 
fess to you that I then had some doubts of its genuineness. 
They arose from two considerations, one of which was that it 
uses the terms American system, the first application of which, 
within my recollection, to the Tariff, was made by myself in 
my published speech on that subject in 1S24, posterior to the 
date of the letter. The other was, that, although it bore a 
strong resemblance to the style of Mr. Jefferson, I thought it 
spoke with more explicitncss in relation to the election to the 
Presidency of myself, than he would permit himself to do, in 
respect to any person. I communicated these doubts to General 
Vance at Columbus, and to one or two other friends, before I 
saw the authenticity of the letter questioned in the public prints. 
I had even thought of indicating my suspicion to the public in 
some form ; but then I did not know but that the letter might 
be genuine ; and if it should prove to be so, my calling it in 
question would seem very strange. I therefore remained silent. 
Subsequent occurrences have tended to strengthen instead of 
removing the doubts. And I now fear that Mr. Southwortfa 
(with whom I have no personal acquaintance, although I think 
it probable I may have seen him) has acted improperly. He 
had before given me several occasions to regret his intemperate 
zeal. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 283 

Under these circumstances, ought I to do any tiling ? Or to 
leave him to get out of the scrape as he can ? 

One thing has occurred to me, about which I wish to trouble 
you. The late Colonel T. M. Randolph, about three years ago 
attributed to Mr. Jefferson some very disparaging opinions of 
me, and published them. I knew they were inaccurate at the 
time. I know that Mr. Jefferson entertained friendly and favor- 
able opinions of me, although I did not know the extent. And 
I know that Colonel Randolph greatly misrepresented the purport 
of a conversation between Mr. Jefferson and me, in his presence, 
and in the presence of Governor Metcalf, who, although I have 
never spoken to him about it, I am sure would contradict Colo- 
nel Randolph. 

Shortly after the appearance of Colonel Randolph's statement, 
I received from his son, Thomas J. Randolph, a letter of which 
the inclosed is a copy, addressed to me spontaneously. I could 
make no use of it during the life of the father, for obvious rea- 
sons. After his death, I obtained from the son permission to 
use it as I pleased, although I have never availed myself of it. 
I observe that the statement of Colonel Randolph is again relied 
upon to obviate the effect of the Southworth letter. Now, it 
has occurred to me, that it may be useful to publish Mr. T. J. 
Randolph's letter; and if you think so, I would be glad that 
you would obtain his second permission to publish it. It might 
then be stated in " The Whig," or some othe'r paper, that it had 
obtained a copy of the letter, with authority to publish it. I 
should prefer, if published, that it should not appear as my act, 
or to be done at my instance. 

The publication of this letter will destroy the effect of Colo- 
nel Randolph's statement, and prove that Mr. Jefferson enter- 
tained friendly sentiments, although not the extent of them. 

Our elections are just over, and have secured us a majority of 
not less, on joint ballot in the Legislature, than twelve, and per- 
haps eighteen. They show that there is about five thousand in 
the whole State against Jackson, which would have been swelled 
to from ten to fifteen thousand, if the direct question of the next 
Presidency had been before the people. Our majority in the 
Legislature would have been thirty, but for the operation of 
local causes, divisions, and the impossibility of making the 
Presidential question every where bear on the election. Mr. 
Rowan will be permitted to retire. 



284 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

The results in Indiana. Illinois, Missouri, so far as we have 
yet heard from them, are still more favorable. Benton's re-elec- 
tion is considered certain. 

P. S. Should you decide to publish the letter of Mr. T. J. R. ; 
perhaps, it will be better to make no allusion to the letter of Mr 
Southworth. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Black Rock, October 6, 1830. 
Dear Sir, — This cursed anti-masonry embarrasses every 
thing, and defeats all attempts at systematic operation against 
the common enemy. Of one thing, however, I can assure you, 
which is, that you personally, as well as the leading measures 
of policy which you have so powerfully and conspicuously ad- 
vocated, are visibly and rapidly gaining ground in every part of 
our State ; and [ am now much inclined to believe that, if we 
had, two months ago, started a candidate for Governor under 
the banner of Clay and the American system, we should have 
succeeded. 



MR. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Montpelier, October 9, 1830. 

Dear Sir. — I have just been favored with yours of the 22d 
ultimo, inclosing a copy of your address delivered at Cincinnati. 
Without concurring in every thing that is said, I feel what is 
due to the ability and eloquence of the whole. The rescue of 
the Resolutions of Kentucky, in '98 and '99, from the miscon- 
struction of them, was very apropos ; that authority being par- 
ticularly relied on, as an a3gis to the nullifying doctrine, which, 
notwithstanding its hideous aspect and fatal tendency, has capti- 
vated so many honest minds. In a late letter to one of my cor- 
respondents, I was led to the like task of vindicating the pro- 
ceedings of Virginia in those years. I would gladly send you a 
copy if I had a suitable one. But as the letter is appended to 
the "North American Review" for this month, you will probably 
have an early opportunity of seeing it. 

With my thanks for your obliging communication, I beg you 



OF HENRY CLAY. l 2<> 

to accept assurances of my great and cordial esteem, in which 
Mrs. Madison joins me, as I do her in the best regards which 
she offers to Mrs Clay. 



J. S. JOHNSTON TO MR. CLAY. 

PniLADELi'niA, Tuesday, October 10. 1830. 

My dear Sir, — We have been greatly shockod to-day by the 
sudden and unexpected death of Mrs. Brown. She expired 
about eleven o'clock, without the slightest pain or suffering, and 
probably without any consciousness of the approaching event. 
The disease which has proved so instantaneously fatal was water 
in the chest, which had been gradually increasing and rendering 
her respiration more difficult. The collection of water burst and 
extinguished life in a moment. She drove out on Saturday as 
well as usual; saw several of her friends on Sunday evening, 
and did not retire until eleven. Monday she was not so well, 
and for the first time kept her room ; she slept well Monday 
night, and until late in the morning ; had her breakfast at nine ; 
said she was much better, and would dress and go down stairs. 
Mr. Brown went to the reading-room as usual. Doctor La Roche 
was with her ten minutes before, and left her without apprehen- 
sion. She expired so easily, that Miss Brown supposed she had 
fainted. Mr. Brown has been greatly distressed. They had 
just established themselves in their new house. Mrs. Brown 
supposed she had the asthma, and that she might live as her 
father had done for many years. On Saturday she selected a 
lot to build on. This event, painful as it is to Mr. Brown and 
his friends, is most happy for her in the manner of it. She has 
been spared all the anticipations of death, which she seemed to 
put far away from her. 

All the arrangements are made for the funeral, which will be 
numerously attended. Mrs. Brown is a great loss to the city, 
and her death has made a great sensation. I returned last even- 
ing from Boston. 

I have been with Mr. Brown this evening, and he is more 
composed. Miss Susan will write Mrs. Clay as soon as she can ; 
in the mean time they both recmest me to write you, which I 
have done in great haste. 



286 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

Ashland, November 1, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — I have received several letters from you, which 
I should have acknowledged, had I known where to address you. 
The last, from Philadelphia, communicates the death of Mrs. 
Brown, an event which has filled us with affliction, although we 
were not altogether unprepared to expect it. To Mr. Brown it 
must have hcen irreparable. They had lived so long together, 
and entered so entirely into each other's pleasures, pursuits, and 
habits, that I fear he will hardly ever recover from the shock. 
He ought forthwith to leave Philadelphia and travel. 

I have received a confidential communication that Senator 
Barnard has renounced Jacksonism, and, at a time when he may 
deem suitable, will exhibit evidence of his renunciation. I put 
you in possession of the fact that, if true, you may not be unap- 
prised of it. Should it prove correct, the change may neutralize 
the loss of Marks, which, I suppose, is inevitable. We shall 
gain, I think, one Senator in Kentucky ; and there being now 
two to elect in Illinois (Mr. M-Lean is dead), if we are in good 
luck, we shall gain at least one there. On the other hand, I 
fear, from all that has reached me, Barton may not be re-elected. 
Ohio will re-elect Burnet, or some other friend. Indiana will 
re-elect Hendricks, or some less equivocal friend. On these data 
you can estimate the probable state of the Senate. 

Should the elections to the Legislature terminate favorably in 
New York (as some friends calculate), you may possibly get a 
friendly Senator there. Of that you will be able to judge by 
the time this letter reaches you. 

Upon the whole (let the issue of the New York election be 
what it may), I think the campaign of this year has not closed 
discouragingly. Great faults have been committed, but they are 
not exclusively confined to our side. In this State, the proposed 
Convention will take effect, and one of its best results, I hope, 
will be to guard us against future faux pas. 

My best regards to Mrs. Johnston. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 2S7 

» 

NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, November 3, 1R30. 

MydearSir, — I have pur] 1 answering your favor 

of the 11th of September, until I could speak with som • 
of confidence as to the course which will be adopted in reference 
to the subject of it. In the mean time 1 have read i dly, 

and with renewed interest, all your remarks 3 proceeding, as I 
know they do, from one who, with ample materials of informa- 
tion and great sagacity in employing them, gives the result of 
his reflections with a sincere desire to serve the institution. For 
this, in any event, you will accept my grateful thanks. 

After keeping the subject long under advisement, in order to 
observe the latest development of facts, I am now satisfied that 
it would be inexpedient to apply at present for the renewal of 
the Charter. My belief is, from all that I have seen, and read, 
and heard, that there is at this moment a majority of both Houses 
of Congress favorable to a renewal ; and, moreover, that the 
President would not reject the bill. The temptation is therefore 
great to take advantage of a propitious state of feeling like this. 
But then the hazard is not to be disguised. A great mass of 
those who, if they were obliged to vote at all, would vote favor- 
ably, will prefer not voting if it can be avoided, and the dread 
of responsibility, the love of postponement, and the vis inertia 
inherent in all legislative bodies would combine to put off the 
question during the approaching short session. To pass both 
Houses and be rejected by the President — to be rejected in either 
House, to be postponed in either House, to be brought forward 
in any shape, and not be finally and favorably acted upon, are 
degrees of evil — but the mildest of them, a great evil, much to 
be deplored, and to be avoided, if possible. My impression, then, 
is, that nothing but a certainty of success should induce an ap- 
plication now. To this I am the more inclined, because time 
is operating in favor of the Bank by removing prejudices, and 
diffusing a general conviction of its utility. 

Having made up my own mind on the subject, 1 am gratified 
that this, which is the first expression 1 have made of this opinion, 
should be communicated to you, whose views have so largely 
influenced my own. It will always afford me great pleasure to 
receive the benefit of your further suggestions on t this or any 
other subject, being with great respect and regard yours, etc. 



288 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTOX. 

A-hlaxd, November 14, 1830. 

My dear Sir. — The same information communicated to you, 
and which is contained in your letter of the 5th instant, respect- 
ing the rupture between two high officers, has come to me from 
Nashville, pretty directly. I think, therefore, it may be presumed 
true. I should not be surprised if Jackson should denounce the 
nullifiers in his next message, and mount that hobby to regain 
his popularity. But what will — what can the "Vice-President 
do ? South Carolina is rather too contracted a position for him 
to start from. Besides, he is not very secure in that. It ap- 
pears to me that Van Buren has completely out-maneuvered 
him. 

In regard to the attempt to turn out Duff, I can supply you 
with some facts which may throw light upon the object. Blair, 
of " The Kentucky Argus," is now on his way to Washington, 
with his family, to set up a new paper, and it is highly proba- 
ble that the alternatives which the Jackson party mean to offer 
you, are Duff and Blair ! Will not their division admit your 
friends appointing some respectable editor ? If not, I think it 
will be most expedient for them to present such an editor, and 
adhere to him to the last, without mixing in the contest between 
the above two. 

The divisions in New York have led, I perceive, to the issue 
that might have been anticipated : the triumph of the Jackson 
party in all the elections. 

I believe I mentioned to you, in a former letter, that Poin- 
dexter dined with me, and that he talks like an independent 
man, who felt that he was denounced, and was resolved to cling 
to principle. 



MR. CLAY TO JOHN BAILHACHE. 

Ashland, November 24, 1830. 

Dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 18th inst., commu- 
nicating a very full and satisfactory account of your late election, 
and of the causes which led to its results. Upon the whole, 
we have much reason to be satisfied with those results, although 
we may regret that our friends in the reserve did not bestir them- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 

solves more. On the subject of the operation of Anti-Masonry 
on the interests of our cause, respecting which you request my 

views, I will explain them very frankly. 

The leaders of Anti-Masonry are in the pursuit of power; 

the great holy of their party are endeavoring to remove what 
they honestly believe to he a great evil. The forme:: would 
desire power, without regard to the means of acqi h ; the 

latter seek it only as an instrument of effecting their i ount 
object. To accomplish this object they believe, and their 
industriously inculcate the belief, that a change of the 
administration of the actual Government (whether I or 

State) is necessary. Hence, in the Western reserve, and in 
Vermont, where our friends are in the majority, the Anti-Masons 
i 1. 1 mected themselves with the Jacksonians to get hold of the 
Government, and to dispossess those who possessed it. For the 
same reason, in New York and Pennsylvania, when the Jackson 
party was in power, the Anti-Masons sought a coalition with our 
friends. If this coalition was not complete, and if the Anti-Ma- 
sons did not succeed, it was not their fault. 

I think it may be assumed that whenever Anti-Masonry is in 
the minority, it will seek a connection with any other party, 
which, in the same place, is also in the minority. This will 
account for the various and apparently conflicting directions 
which it takes. It is only an apparent inconsistency, for the 
object every where is the same, the acquisition of pov. 

In this respect, Anti-Masonry does not differ from any other 
party, for the natural tendency of all the divisions of a minority, 
is to cohesion. This will generally take place unless it is coun- 
teracted by some stronger feeling or sentiment than that of 
hatred to those in power, as was the case with a portion of our 
friends in the late New York election. 

I do not know that it is to be regretted that the Anti-Masons 
did not succeed in Pennsylvania and New York. If they 
been successful, they would probably have brought om an Anti- 
Mi sonic candidate for President. Still, if I had been in New 
York, with a right to vote, I should have given my suffrage to 
Granger. I will not now trouble you with the reasoi 

I regret that the failure of Mr. (> I asci rtained 

to have been, because our friends about Albany, and in the river 
counties, would not concentrate on him. Unless this circum- 
stance should produce an alienation between our friends and the 

19 



290 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Anti-Masons, I should think we will ultimately obtain their sup- 
port, for the following reasons : 

1. Tt is in conformity with the general nature of minorities, 
already noticed, that they should vote with us, if thev have no 
candidate of their own party. 

2. They agree with us as to the American System. 

3. They have been violently assailed in New York by the 
Regency. 

4. They believe that, although I am a Mason, that I have no 
bigotry, and that I have no very great ardor for the institution. 

5. General Jackson has, as they think, persecuted them, 
which they believe I should not do, as most certainly I should not. 

I can hardly believe that they will now present a Presidential 
candidate, although they still talk about it. Immediately after 
the election in New York, Mr. Ward (the editor of the <; Anti- 
Masonic Review") told a friend of mine that they could not 
support me, and would present a candidate of their own, etc. 
The next day he called on that same friend, and informed him 
that the Executive Committee of the Anti-Masons had resolved , 
1st. That the late election in New York had shown that they 
could not directly support me: 2d. That it be recommended to 
the convention at Baltimore, to nominate an Anti-Masonic can- 
didate ; and 3d. That the papers of the party in New York, be 
advised to abstain from attacking me, and to conciliate my friends. 

If there be an Anti-Masonic candidate, I am inclined to think 
that it would operate in Pennsylvania and New York, more 
against General Jackson than me, should we both be the candi- 
dates, while in your State, it would operate more against me 
than him. In that contingency, should our friends in New York 
and Pennsylvania unite with the Anti-Masonic party, Jackson 
would probably lose one or both of those States, in either of 
which cases I think he would be defeated. 

What I think not unlikely, is, that this time two years hence, 
the Anti-Masonic party will present in New York a candidate 
fur Governor, without any electors for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, and that our friends will offer these, without any candidate 
for Governor. Upon that supposition, if there he concert between 
the two parties, each would succeed in its ohject. I do not 
know that any such arrangement lias ever been thought of. 
.\.»ne such has ever been suggested to me. and I infer it only 
from the natural operation of causes. 



OF EENBT CLAY. 291 

I am inclined to think, npon the whole, that a conciliatory 
course on our part, toward the Anti-Masons, is wisest. There 
is no occasion for our friends to attack them. Let us leave that 
to the Jackson party. 

We shall have some trouble about a Senator, though I yet 
think we shall succeed in the election of a friend. I have 
been pressed of late to offer. Mr. Adams' example is quoted. 
But both my feelings and judgment arc strongly opposed to my 
return to Congress. Nothing but a contingency, which I sin- 
cerely hope may not arise, would overcome them. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashiand, December 20, 1830. 

My dear Sir, — I believe I am in arrears to you, and that I 
omitted to answer your last, in which you requested me to say 
something on French affairs. Events followed in such rapid 
succession, that I had no time, except to put in a flying shot, 
which seemed to me hardly necessary. I sincerely hope that 
the work, so gloriously begun, will be happily consummated. 
They have two dangers : the first, in retaining a Bourbon on 
the throne, which they thought ought to be done to consiliate 
foreign powers ; and the second, the humane desire to screen 
the former ministers from punishment. It would have been 
better to have suffered the law to proceed against them, and to 
have forborne the offer of the project of abolishing capital pun- 
ishments until it had pronounced its sentence. It would have 
been better not to have mixed the two subjects together, or not 
to have given color to such an imputation. After their convic- 
tion, if convicted, I think it would have been easier to have com- 
muted the punishment for banishment, or some other milder 
form. As to Belgium, the rock on which I feared the French 
Government would split, they appear to me to have acted dis- 
creetly. Belgium will ultimately go to France, unless a totally 
new way of thinking has taken place since I was there. 

But I did not commence to write you now on French affairs. 
Perhaps, before my letter reaches you, some new and important 
turn may have taken place in them. 

My object was to say to you, that I go in a day or two to 
New Orleans, to pass a portion of the winter there with BtL 
Clay, and to request you to let me hear from you at that city. 



292 fJRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

I am extremely anxious to know how your Legislature disposes 
of the Judiciary, or rather, Judges. In these late times of po- 
litical trouble and strife, nothing has distressed me so much as 
the suffering of my friends, and I have feared that they would 
make a victim of you on my account. Do let me know what 
may be done. 

The political events of the year, taken altogether, are not dis- 
couraging. Except in Maine and New York, they justify strong 
hopes of the future. And in New York, so far as the election 
of Governor was concerned, it is far from certain that the issue 
should be regretted. 

In this State, the Legislature has not yet appointed a Senator. 
Our friends are in good spirits, and count upon success. But 
the vote will be a close one, owing to the fact that five or six 
members, opposed to the Administration, believe themselves 
pledged to vote for a Jackson Senator. It is not impossible that 
no election will be made this session. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

West Point, December 20, 1830. 

My dear Father, — I have just learned with certainty by 
your letter, that you and my mother are going to New Orleans. 
You will find there such a reunion of friends and relations, 
that I am sure you can not fail to spend a very agreeable win- 
ter. Would that I formed one of your party, but next to enjoy- 
ing your society myself, is the pleasure I feel in knowing that 
you are re-established in health and spirits, and surrounded by 
your friends. 

In regard to study, an object has presented itself to my view, 
and I eagerly pursue it. My perseverance and assiduity in this 
pursuit, may perhaps be to my prejudice in others, but still I am 
willing to give up excellence in every other department of 
knowledge, to attain an honorable rank as a speaker. I am 
well aware that a general acquaintance with the whole circle 
of arts and sciences, and in fact with every branch of human 
knowledge, is indispensable to the accomplished orator, and this 
I shall endeavor to acquire, without weakening or confusing my 
mind by too abstracted an attention to minutiae. I am glad that 
you are improving Ashland. I have a kind of filial affection for 
it, which seems to increase with my years, and distance from it. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

COKRESPONDENCE OF 1831 AND 1832, 



MR. CLAY TO 



New Orleans, February 10, 1S31. 

Dear Sir, — I found, on my arrival in this State, a general 
alarm pervading it in respect to the attack meditated on the 
Tariff, and which had been actually commenced in the House 
of Representatives. The people of Louisiana, an excellent race, 
and greatly attached to the Union, contemplate the success of 
that attack as involving their utter ruin. If, say they, we had 
remained a colony of France or Spain, our productions, and 
especially our great staple, would have been protected, in the 
parent country, against the rival productions of foreign colonies. 
And shall we, as an independent State, a member of this great 
Republic, fare worse than if we had continued a distant colony'? 

I must confess that they have made a convert of me, and have 
fully convinced me of two propositions : 1st. That the repeal or 
reduction of the present duty on foreign sugar would totally 
disable them from continuing the culture of the cane ; and 2d. 
That all parts of the Union would partake of the distress which 
would be certainly inflicted on them. 

Most erroneous impressions prevail, in other parts of the Union, 
as to the profits upon capital invested in sugar plantations. It 
happens to this business, as to all others, that now and then a 
planter, by the practice of the greatest economy, by a favorable 
season and the concurrence of fortunate circumstances, makes a 
large profit. These rare insta me ihe theme of - 

conversation, and hence it is rashly inferred that all the planters 
are growing rapidly rich. The conclusion is just as unwise as 
it would have been prior to the Tariff oi I that the 

cotton manufacture was prosperous because that at Waltham was 



294 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

doing remarkably well. These eases of good fortune are neu- 
tralized by others of an opposite character. For example (and 
the instance is by no means singular), a planter, whose acquaint- 
ance I have formed, who is remarkable for his intelligence, and 
his accuracy and great attention to business, has, in partnership, 
an estate which cost upward of $220,000. His partner, a 
skillful and diligent manager, resides on the estate. Minute and 
regular accounts are kept of their receipts and expenditures. 
They sold last year their crop, and, after deducting all expenses, 
the nett sum of $800 remained to be divided between them ! 

But it is not on these extremes, on either side, that the states- 
man should be guided in adjusting his measures to the wants or 
necessities of a community. His conclusions should be drawn 
from the average profit deduced from a view of the entire branch 
of business, which his duties call upon him to consider. Pro- 
ceeding upon this principle, I am persuaded, from all I have seen 
and heard here, that Mr. Senator Johnston, in his late excellent 
letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, in assuming as the aver- 
age rate of profit upon capital employed in the culture of sugar 
cane, from five to six per cent, rather exceeds than falls short of 
the true standard. It is evident, then, that the Louisiana planter, 
if he were not protected by the existing duty, could not sustain 
a competition with the sugars of foreign colonies. They would 
compel him to abandon the business; and the repeal of that duty 
would be almost as fatal to him as if Congress were to order the 
dykes to be razed from Point Coupee to the Balize. 

But if Congress, after having by its whole course of policy 
during a long series of years, inspired confidence in the inhabit- 
ants of this State as to the permanency of protection, and thereby 
invited them to invest their capital in their present pursuit, could 
overwhelm them in irretrievable ruin, their sufferings would not 
be confined to themselves, but would extend to every other part 
of the Union. If manufactures in any country deserve protec- 
tion because of the home market which they create for the pro- 
ductions of the industry of other classes, the sugar planter of 
Louisiana is equally entitled, for the same reason, to protection. 
The seven or eight hundred sugar plantations in Louisiana are 
in fact, but seven or eight hundred great manufactories. The 
material is, it is true, produced on their plantations by the 
cultivation of the earth, but it is only produced to be there man- 
ufactured also into sugar and molasses. As consumers of the 



'©' 



\ 



OF HENRY CLAY. 295 

objects of the industry of other cli the Louisiana planters are 

even more important than manufacturers exclusively employed 
in fabrication ; for they neither make theii food, nor their cloth- 
ing, nor their implements of labor, all of which they purchase 
from other States. Nay*more, their very laborers themselves, in 
consequence of the institution of slavery, are chiefly brought from 
other States. Manufacturers, strictly so called, on the contrary, 
either make their own clothes, or their implements of labor, or 
both. 

I had no adequate conception, prior to my present visit to this 
State, of the extent of this dependence of the Louisiana planter 
upon other States for his necessary supplies. He draws from 
them his flour, bacon, pork, beef, the greater part of the Indian 
corn fed upon his plantation, his carts, axes, spades, plows, hoes, 
steam-engines for his sugar-house, stone-coal, boilers, horses, 
mules, cattle, the clothing of his slaves, whisky, and a great 
variety of small articles. These are obtained principally from 
Pennsylvania and the Western, Middle, and Northern States. 
His slaves, annually in great numbers, are brought from Virginia 
and Maryland. 

Let us suppose the market for these various articles to be sud- 
denly cut off, the inevitable consequence of the repeal of the 
duty upon sugar, and am I not correct in saying that every part 
of the Union, in this view of the subject, would be deeply and 
sensibly affected by the destruction of the business of the Louis- 
iana planter ? Every article which I have enumerated would 
immediately fall in price, and no section of the Union would be 
altogether exempt from the consequences of a measure so dis- 
astrous. 

Would they be compensated by any permanent reduction in 
the price of sugar, the illusive object sought by those who, in 
aiming to repeal the duty, would lay the ax at the root of the 
prosperity of this interesting State ? It is confidently believed 
not. The present low price of sugar is attributable to the com- 
i tition which has" been produced b a the West Indian 

and Louisiana planter. The eighty i r one hundred thousand 
hogsheads which the latter annually throws into the general 
consumption have diminished to that extent, the demand for the 
produce of the former, who has been consequently compelled to 
reduce the price. This has i ' ' the i, isiana planter also to 
reduce the price, and he has found himself sustained only by tho. 



296 PRIVATE CQBBESPONDENCE 

possession of the home market, the principal part of which is 
given him by the existing duty. If that duty were n pealed, and 
if Louisiana continued permanently to produce the quantity which 
annually yields, undoubtedly there would be a per- 
manent reduction of price. But the effect of a repeal of the duty 
would compel the Louisiana planter to abandon cultivation of 
the sugarcane. Absolute ruin would attend him if he continued 
to prosecute it. Then what would happen? The eighty or 
one hundred thousand hogsheads now contributed by Louisiana 
would be withdrawn from the general consumption. A demand 
would ensue for eighty or one hundred thousand hogsheads more 
of the production of the West Indies. This demand would 
speedily augment the price, and the probability is, that it would 
rise to what it now is, or nearly so. It may be argued that 
when, after falling, the price should again rise to the present 
rate, the Louisiana planter would resume the cultivation. But 
this admits of several satisfactory answers. In the first place, if 
he was now out of the business, he probably would not embark 
in it, such are the discouragements produced by low prices and 
the dread of a change of public policy. He continues the busi- 
ness because he is in it, has built his houses, made his canals 
and ditches, established his manufactory, consisting of mills, 
steai lies and boilers, and effected all his other arrangements 

with a view to his present pursuit. Supposing that abandoned; 
supposing all these arrangements overturned, and his plantation 
appropriated to the cultivation of cotton, rice, or any other ar- 
ticle, it would not be so easy, under the temptation even of a 
high price of sugar, to return to the planting of cane. The 
establishment of a sugar plantation, with all its manufacturing 
and other apparatus, is not suddenly accomplished, but is a work 
of long, patient, and arduous industry. Finally, he could not 
fail to reflect that the encouraging price of sugar, for the moment, 
resulted from the absence of Louisiana competition, and that, 
whenever this returned, a depressed and ruinous state of the 
market would be inevitable. 

Other views of this interesting question might be taken, but I 
will content myself with noticing only an additional one. i[ the 
cultivation of the sugar cane be abandoned, the labor now em- 
ployed in it must be directed to some other ; and that 
object undoubtedly would be cotton. But this article is already 
produced in e ve quantity. Would it be wise in Congress, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 297 

by curtailing the pursuits of the people of the United States, to 
compel a large portion of their industry i . employment in a 

business already overdone ? The effect would be most injuriously 
felt in Ten] ■. the northern parts of Uabama and Mississippi, 

the upper parts of Georgia and South Carolina, and generally 
tlios- districts of the cotton region which are the least adapted to 
the production of that staple. 

I found the sensibility of the people of this State, on my ar- 
rival here, greatly excited on another subject. Shortly after the 
cession of Louisiana, an act of Congress required all the inhab- 
itants to register their titles to lands granted to them by the pre- 
vious governments, and denounced, as a penalty for a neglect to 
comply with this law, that the proprietors should not be alio 1 . 
to use their unregistered titles in any court of justice. The ob- 
ject at which Congress aimed was a proper and Legitimate object, 
it being to discriminate between the public domain and pri\ 
property ; but it may now be well doubted whether the means 
were not rigorously and disproportionately severe. Many, from 
no disrespect whatever to the Legislature, but from a perfect con- 
fidence in the security of their titles, resulting from ancient pos- 
session and complete grants, and strengthened by a positive stip- 
ulation in the treaty of cession guaranteeing their property, 
omitted to register their titles. Many, from ignorance of the 
law, promulgated in a language not their own. also omitted to 
register their titles. An opinion has prevailed among the bar, 
that in the case of perfect titles, the ceremony of registry was 
unnecessary. 

Notwithstanding this state of conscious security, the lands of 
many of the ancient proprietors^who never dr 
have been thrown into the market. Sales have been actually 
made, in several instances, of plantations which have been in 
cultivation from fifty to one hundred years : and the first knowl- 
edge of them which the unfortunate planters acquired was a no- 
tice from the speculator, not to remove, at their peril, any thing 
whatever from the plantation. „\ehureh even, long dedicated to 
public worship, has been actually sold ! The interposition of 
the Executive has, I understand, been in vain invoked. I do 
hope that that of Congress, to which i ture ha 

will be afforded, and that ; us remedy will he pro- 

vided. 

What that remedy should be, Congress is most competent 



298 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

decide. The effect of the introduction to the proprietor of the 
use, in courts of justice, of his title paper, is a forfeiture of his 
land. But is not that punishment altogether too severe, and dis- 
proportionate to the offense, if offense it can be called, of non- 
registry? Especially when that was never contumacious, and 
in most, if not all, instances proceeded from ignorance of law or 
uage, or forgetfulness. It seems to me that some mode 
might have been adopted to discriminate between the pub- 
lic and private lands other than that of obliging the inhabitants 
to register their titles, already recorded in the archives of preced- 
ing governments, under the pains and penalties of forfeiture ot 
their estates. Had they committed the crime of high treason, 
under ancient law, the punishment, as to their estates, would not 
have been greater ; but even the crime of high treason, in the 
mitigated spirit of modern institutions, does not draw after it a 
forfeiture of the culprit's estate. It may indeed be well ques- 
tioned whether the act of Congress is not repugnant to that 
amendment of the Federal Constitution, which forbids a man's 
property to be taken from him without due process of law. 

I do not know the extent of the evil which I have depicted. 
I have understood that perhaps one third of the plantations from 
Point Coupee down the Mississippi are in that condition. This, 
you know, comprises the best and longest settled, as well as the 
richest part of the State. And what aggravates the misfortune 
is, that the omission to register has been chiefly on the part of 
the Creole planters, affording a strong presumption that it has 
proceeded from ignorance of the American laws and language, 
the American planters having most generally taken the precau- 
tion to comply with the law. » 

Thus threatened with the loss both of their lands and their 
produce, it is astonishing how patiently this good people bear up 
under their afflictions. Complaints there arc among individuals, 
but neither the Legislature nor any public assembly has, for a mo- 
ment, forgot its loyalty to the Union, or its respect to the public 
authorities. We have no menaces of violence, no charges of 
the oppression and tyranny of the majority, no threats to ex< rut.' 
the powers of nullification. They; to abide in perfect 

confidence that, when their condition is fully understood, in the 
general family council, right and justice will be done them. 
That they may not be disappointed I sincerely pray. 



OF ITENRY CLAY. 299 



RICHARD RUSH TO MR. CLAY. 

Pennsylvania, April 11. 1881. 
My dear Sir, — Is there no way in which, without doing vio- 
lence to whatever opinions or feelings you may have as respects 
masonry, or without offending that institution, you could concil- 
iate to a fair and reasonable extent the good will of Anti-Masons, 
between this and September? I am sure that, in lliis State, 
there arc many, very many, of the latter, who notwithstanding 
what is said in the newspapers, ardently desire to give their nip- 
port to you, for the sake of the great public objects and princi- 
ples inseparably interwoven with your name, and which they 
fear the permanent prostration of, should General Jackson be re- 
elected. I throw this out again, not to put you to the trouble of 
a reply, but only for you again to think of it, in conjunction 
with discreet friends in the West. You will do, I know, now as 
always, what duty, honor, and true patriotism require. With 
the direct aid of Anti-Masons, we should carry your banner to a 
glorious victory, even if we do not without. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, May 1, 1831. 

My dear Sir, — Prior to the receipt of your favor of the 17th 
ultimo, I had written you a long letter, which I hope will safely 
reach you. I infer from your last a determination to accept your 
recent appointment. I think you ought to accept it, and I should 
regret that you did not. Under all circumstances, it was an 
honorable testimony. I share with Messrs. Johnson and L igh 
in their disappointment in not getting Mr. Stanard on the bench j 
and I concur with them in the superiority which they assign to 
him over his successful competitor. 

We live in an age of revolution. Who could have imagined 
such a cleansing of the Augean stable at Washington ? a cha 
almost total, of the Cabinet. Did you ever read such a letter as 
Mr. Van Buren's ? It is perfectly characteristic of the man — a 
labored effort to conceal the true motives, and to assign ossumed 
ones, for his resignation, under the evident hope of profiting by 
the latter. The " delicate step,'' I apprehend, has beeu tal 
because, foreseeing the gathering storm, he wished early to 



300 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

secure a safe refuge. Whether that will be on his farm, or at 
London, we shall see. Meantime, our cause can not fail to be 
benefited by the measure. It is a broad confession of the in- 
competency of the President's chosen advisers, no matter from 
what cause, to carry on the business of the Government. It is a 
full admission of that unfitness of those advisers for their respect- 
ive stations, which the whole country felt when they were first 
selected. And if, as I presume, Ingham and Branch were dis- 
missed, or compelled to resign, further dissentions must be sown 
in a party on the verge of dissolution. 

Nor can the injury to his cause be repaired by any successors 
to the vacant places, whom the President may call around him — 
certainly not by those whom rumor designates. Edward Liv- 
ingston to be Secretary of State — a recorded defaulter to an 
enormous amount — the reviler of Jefferson, whom he pursued 
in his retirement with a malicious and vexatious suit — a man 
notoriously destitute of all principle. Louis McLane to be Sec- 
retary of the Treasury — a man who glories in his federalism, 
to be appointed by the Republican party — one whose degrading 
supplications, at the Court of London, for a worthless privilege, 
must have disgusted every man who was not insensible to the 
honor and dignity of his country. 

I expressed, in my former letter, my conjectures as to the 
course of Mr. Calhoun. Late events, tending to show the great 
probability of the defeat of Jackson, may now determine him to 
take bolder and firmer ground against the President. The oc- 
currence at Washington is certainly not intended or calculated 
to subserve Mr. Calhoun. The rumored successors will all be 
adverse to him. I understand that Judge Smith was one of the 
advisers of the President in respect to the recent change, and he 
will advise nothing which can promote Mr. Calhoun's views. 
Thus situated, the Vice-President may declare, or cause himself 
to be declared, a candidate, or aid, without such declaration, any 
and every opposition to the President. Unless I am deceived as 
to his strength, he will not be a candidate himself, but will push 
forward, most probably, Judge McLean. I observe a hint of 
such a purpose, on the part of his friends, in >: The Whig." 
I long sin- 1 ' learned that there was(what shall I call it? — a bar- 
gain ?) between the Judge and Mr. Calhoun, an understanding 
that he of the two was to be supported who could command the 
greatest probability of sucr 



OF HEXIIV CI.AV. 30] 

I observe what you state, as to the impression, in regard to 
my constitutional principles, which Mr. Ritchie has made on the 
Virginia public ; but I can nol concur with you as to the utility, 
at this time, of any publication about them, from myself, in any 
form. If I am not now understood by the public, nothing that 
I could say, during the pendancy of a warm canvass, would make 
me intelligible, and I must submit to any misconception of me 
which may. unfortunately, prevail. I need not say to you thai 
my constitutional doctrines are those of the epoch i f L798. I 
am against all power not delegated, or not necessary and proper 
to execute what is delegated. I hold to the principles of Mr. 
Madison, as promulgated through the Virginia Legislature. I 
was with Mr. Madison then ; I am with him now. I am against 
all nullification, all new lights in politics, if not in religion. 
Applying the very principles of Mr. Madison's famous interpre- 
tation of die Constitution, in the Virginia address, I find in the 
Constitution the power to protect our industry, and to improve 
our country by objects of a national character. I have never 
altered my constitutional opinion which I ever entertained, and 
publicly expressed, but that in relation to the bank : and the ex- 
perience of the last war changed mine, and almost every other 
person's, who had been against the power of chartering it. 
Such are my views, but I will not consent to any publication of 
them, under existing circumstances, if I were even sure of achiev- 
ing the conversion of my old friend Ritchie, who, by the by, 
knows them perfectly well. 

I adhere to my opinion, that there is no sufficient public rea- 
son, at this time, for publishing Mr. Crawford's 1< iter. I should 
be glad that that of Mr. T. J. Randolph could be published, -with- 
out any direct agency of mine ; but if it can not be so published, 
I must acquiesce. 

What am I to do with the perpetual importunities to visit the 
North, etc., etc.? My judgment is against all and every excur- 
sion for, or which might be fairly construed to have in view, 
mere political effect. But I should like to be fortified or cor- 
rected by the opinion of yourself and other Virginia friends. 



802 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Aseland, June 4, 18-31. 

My dear Sir, — I received both of your favors of the 15th 
ult., from Richmond, and of the 26th from St. Julien. I should 
be very happy to meet you in August at the White Sulphur 
Springs and Lewisburg ; but I believe I shall find it necessary 
to remain this summer in Kentucky. My private affairs require 
some portion of my time. I have several Executorships also to 
close, and I wish to avail myself of the leisure I can command 
this summer to settle them. 

I regret that I have not a copy of the pamphlet of Mr. Liv- 
ingston to which you refer. I will endeavor to procure one 
from New Orleans. Lately I have seen extracts from it, in which 
the author speaks very harshly of Mr. Jefferson. 

I should be very glad if you could obtain the consent of Mr. 
T. J. R. to the publication of the letter, but I fear his. apprehen- 
sions will lead him to withhold it. 

Can you not, when at Lewisburg, extend your journey this 
far ? I should be delighted to see you here, and beg you will 
come, if it be possible. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, June 4, 1831. 

Dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 31st ultimo, with the 
newspaper communicating the death of our friend Colonel Roch- 
ester. I offer you my sincere condolence on that afflicting 
event. To his family and numerous friends it is no small alle- 
viation that he lived to a ripe old age, honored and beloved, and 
dies with the deep and general regret of all who knew him, as 
the " Rochester Gazette ; ' truly testifies. 

I congratulate you on the improvement in the price of wool, 
and the consequent encouragement to the cultivation of sheep. 
I received for my common wool, unwashed, 33 cents, and was 
offered G2 for my merino, washed on the back of the sheep. 

A lame ram of mine was left the summer before the last with, 
1 think, a Mr. Foreman, in your neighborhood, and I have never 
since heard of him. Will you he good enough to apply for the 
ram, if living, and use him this fall if you want him? 



OF HENRY CLAY. 303 



nENTRY CLAY, JR., TO niS FATHER. 

West Toixt, June 21, 18:. i. 

Dear Father, — I have favorable news to give you in regard 
to myself. I have finished my examination and have gr I 

second : and in the engineer corps. You know that it is the 
highest honor conferred upon graduates to be admitted into the 
engineers ; and one not often conferred upon the heads of classes. 

General Scott is President of the Board for this year; you 
know he is your warm friend, and consequently mine. I have 
received from him many manifestations of the kindest attention 
to my interests. He wishes me to be stationed in New York, 
should I remain in the army. If you should advise me so to 
do, I shall be employed on the fortifications of New York Bay 
and Harbor. In the mean time I deem it proper to say that my 
talents remain the same as before this honor, and I believe I may 
say my inclinations also. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, June 23, 1831. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 12th instant. I 
believe I have answered all your previous favors, although my 
last, at the date of yours, had not, I suppose, reached you. In 
that I informed you that I could not visit Lcwisburg. It would 
have afforded me very great satisfaction to have been able to 
visit it, on account of yourself and other friends whom I should 
have met there, or at the Springs ; but it will not be in my 
power. Can you not come here, when you will, at Lewis!, 
have penetrated so far to the West? I assure you that we would 
give you a warm and cordial reception, if you would visit us ; 
and I hope you will be able and inclined to do so. 

I am sorry to have troubled you with air. T. J. Randolph and 
his letter. Certainly their prudence is much to be admir- d. \s 
it is but a small affair, I beg you to desist from the pursuit of it, 
if you encounter any further obstacle. I am not insensible to 
the value of the good opinion of his grandfather, as I desire in- 
deed to deserve and possess that of all men. His father bore 
evidence, which was widely promulgated, of an unfavorable 
opinion entertained of me by his grandfather. He voluntarily 
contradicted it in a private letter to me. During his father's 



304 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

lifetime, from considerations of delicacy. I did not desire the 
publication of the contradiction. After his (father's) death, he 
expressly permitted it. If he now refuses the publication, and 
chooses to allow his father's erroneous testimony to stand unre- 
futed, I must, without repining, acquiesce in the decision. 

Our flattering prospects in Kentucky daily increase, instead of 
d( lining. And letters which reach me from all quarters of the 
Union (the four Southern Atlantic States excepted) exhibit a 
tone of "the greatest confidence. Anti-Masonry seems to he the 
only difficulty now in the way of certain success, both in Penn- 
sylvania and New York. I have been urged, entreated, impor- 
tuned, to make some declaration; short of renunciation of ma- 
sonry, which would satisfy the Antis. But I have hitherto de- 
clined all interference on that subject. While I do not, and 
never did, care about Masonry, I shall abstain from making my- 
self any party to that strife. I tell them that Masonry or Anti- 
Masonry has, legitimately, in my opinion, nothing to do with 
politics ) that I never acted, in public or private life, under any 
Masonic influence ; that I have long since ceased to be a mem- 
ber of any lodge ; that I voted for Mr. Adams, no Mason, against 
General Jackson, a Mason, etc. 

Mr. Rush, among others, has urged me to make some declara- 
tion. Notwithstanding his late impassioned address, he is firm 
in his devotion to our cause, and, I think, is worthy of all confi- 
dence. I do not believe that he would accept a nomination for 
the Presidency from the Antis, nor that he would allow of any 
use of his name prejudicial to me. 

How Anti-Masonry will finally operate is an important ques- 
tion. They may, and probably will make a nomination at Bal- 
timore, in September, of some person who is not a Mason. They 
can not nominate Calhoun, on account of his political principles. 
They will not nominate Van Buren. If they nominate Rush. I 
think he will not accept the nomination. It is said that Judge 
M'Lean will not. Granger they intend to run as Governor of 
N< ■ York. If they do make a nomination which shall be ac- 
cepted. F think they will, before the next spring, discover how 
hopeless it is, and abandon it virtually, if not formally. 

Upon the whole, I do not apprehend ultimately any serious 
mischief from it. 

Mrs. Clay unites with me in respectful remembrances to Mrs. 
Brooke. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 305 



MR. CLAY TO AT) \M EE-VTTY. 

;■, June 25, If 

Dear Sir, — The same anxiety displayed by our friend. Mr, 
Rochester, as evinced in the extract from his letter which yon 
were good enough to send me, in regard to the pending Ken- 
tucky elections, pervades our friends throughout the Union. 
And I do believe that, if they should result, as Ave hope and be- 
lieve they might be made to result, the Presidential contesl 
lid, in effect, be decide;]. My information as to our pros- 
| i in the State is highly flattering. Still no energy or exer- 
tion ought to be spared that can be thrown into the canvass. I 
concur with you fully in the efficiency of the plan suggested 
by you for bringing out the voters, and hope you will have it 
carried into effect in your quarter. Such a proceeding is con- 
templated here, and it will be also suggested to the Central Com- 
mittee. 

We can not tell, at this distance of time and theater, how the 
Anti-Masonic excitement will result. Should they make a nom- 
ination in September, their first difficulty will be to prevail on 
any prominent person to accept. I am quite sure, from the tenor 
of recent letters from Mr. Rush to me, that he will not. I have 
heard that Mr. M'Lean would not. They can not nominate < !al- 
houn, without utter ruin to themselves. But if they should suc- 
ceed in getting some prominent person to stand. I think, before 
one year, they would discover the hopelessness of the effort, 
and perceive that perseverance might be highly injurious. As 
between Jackson and me, 1 have every reason to count upon 
their preference. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

■ blakd, July is, 1831. 

My dear Sir, — According to the wish expressed in your loi- 
ter of the 2d instant, duly received, I transmit a copy of Mr. 
Randolph's letter to me. I have another from him, written sub- 
sequent to his father's death, on which, ho . I have uol 
been able to lay my hands, in which he expresses his consent to 
my publication of the letter now si at. Notwithstanding, if there 
be any objection now existing to its publication, on his part, I 
do not desire it to be done. 

20 



306 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I have been much importuned to make some declaration in re- 
gard to Masonry (not a formal renunciation or denunciation), 
which would conciliate and satisfy the Anti-Masons. I have 
declined to do so, and shall not depart from this resolution. I 
think it best not to touch the subject. Principle and policy are 
both opposed to my meddling with it. At the same time I be- 
lieve it would be politic to leave the Jackson party exclusively 
to abuse the Antis. 

Information has reached me, in which I confide, that about 
one hundred of the most prominent Jacksonians in and about 
Philadelphia, have addressed the hero, and requested him not to 
run again. He had not answered them at my last dates. 



GENERAL BERNARD TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington- City, July 19, 1831. 

Sir, — I have the honor to inform you that it is with deep re- 
gret I am about to leave this hospitable land, and to return to 
Europe, whose political situation places me under the moral ob- 
ligation to tender once more my humble services to France. 

Before leaving this abode of liberty and peace, permit me to 
express to you, one of the great citizens of this noble Republic, 
how my heart is full of gratitude for the honorable and generous 
patronage you have bestowed upon me during the fifteen years 
that I have served this great people. 

While I shall always remember with pride your kind regard 
toward me, my family will never forget how much we are in- 
debted to Mrs. Clay for her polite attentions toward us during her 
stay at Washington. 

Be so indulgent, sir, as to receive my most fervent wishes for 
your happiness, and the expression of my everlasting sentiments 
of gratitude. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON. 

II HtttoDBBUBO, July '23, 1831. 

My dear Sir. — In passing through Lexington from my resi- 
dence, yesterday, to this place, where I purpose spending a few 
days, I received your favor dated at the Balize, and sincerely 



OF EENRY CI. AY. S07 

hope that this letter may find you in port. I should have 

written you b sal Louisville I intimated I would do, but 

you appeared to be in such constant motion in Louisiana, that I 

did not know how to tak< on the win . 

Of the events at \V ' which ha\ i i :curred -incc I saw 

y<ui, I need say hut little. Everyone, fond of his country, 
must have seen them with mortifii . and regret. The only 

consolation deducible from them is, that, they may contribute to 
dispel the delusion which placed those in power who have occa- 
sioned them. 

T think we are authorized, from all that is now hefore us, to 
anticipate confidently General Jackson's defeat. The question 
of who will be the successor, may he more doubtful. The 
probabilities are strongly with us. It seems to me that nothing 
can disappoint the hopes of our friends, but Anti-Masonry. If 
that party should nominate a candidate at Baltimore, and adhere 
to him, they may prevent any election by the colleges, and pos- 
sibly may lead to the election of the present incumbent. I be- 
lieve they will make a nomination of an Anti-Mason. The wish 
of many of them, I understand, has been to make such a nomi- 
nation, and then, that the person designated should decline. 
Accordingly an application was made to Judge M'Lean, to sound 
him, and to the surprise of the party he has expressed, it is said, 
a willingness to accept the nomination! This has produced 
embarrassment. Whether they will now nominate the Judge, 
cr some person not so accommodating, remains to be seen. 
Should they nominate Mr. Rush, I presume he will decline. 
This gentleman has written mo several letters since the publica- 
tion o( his famous address, in all of which he has expressed the 
strongest sentiments of attachment and friendship to me. His 
main object in them was to prevail upon me to make some dec- 
laration against Masonry, which would satisfy and conciliate the 
Antis. I was opposed to it, both upon principle and policy. I 
was opposed, not exclusively upon Masonic, hut also upon other 
grounds. I think we ought not to admit the right of mixing 
Masonry or Anti-Masonry, or any other society, whether literary, 
benevolent, or religious, with politics. I concluded, ind so in- 
formed Mr. Rush, not to touch the subject, but to stand still. 
Reflection since has confirmed my resolution. 

Should the Amis make a nomination, as supposed, in F 
tember, of an Anti-Mason for the Presidency, it will Ijc an 



308 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

interesting question what course our friends ought to take m 
relation to it in New York and Pennsylvania. I submit some 
observations : 

I think our friends in New York erred, last summer, in not 
hoisting their own colors. The consequence was, that, as a 
party, they acted with no concert, neither with the Amis nor 
with, the Regency, exclusively, but with both. They got the 
gratitude of neither. What is more, the Antis were more em- 
bittered by the loss of some eighteen or twenty thousand of our 
friends, than they were gratified by their gain of upward of 
sixty thousand of them. And they obtained these sixty thous- 
and as a clear addition to their own ranks, or, in fact, so many 
Antis. The further consequence was, to exhibit a great nomi- 
nal increase of Anti-Masons since the election of the previous 
year. This apparent augmentation has had the elfect of extend- 
ing the Anti-Mason principle to other States, which had before 
been almost exempt from it. If, last fall, Anti-Masonry had, in 
New York, been restricted to its own legitimate numbers, it 
would now be less formidable there, or any where else, than 
it is. 

We are taught by past errors what to do in future. That, I 
think, ousdit to be done this fall which was omitted the last. 
Our standard should be raised, whatever may be the number, 
small or great, flocking to it. There may then be in New York 
and Pennsylvania, three distinct tickets. Three consequences 
will ensue : First, that the Auti-Masons will be reduced to 
their proper numbers, and be taught by the reduction, modera- 
tion ; secondly, that the Jackson party may be the strongest oL 
the three ; thirdly, by union, that the Jackson party may be de- 
feated, whereas, by division between the Antis and the National 
Republicans, the Jackson party may succeed. And if the can- 
vass should be conducted in a conciliatory manner by our friends 
toward the Antis (which policy evidently enjoins), this final 
consequence next fall may follow : that they (the Antis) will 
then come to our support. 

The policy of the Antis is to force us into their support. 
Ours should be to win them to ours. Taking the Union at 
large, we are certainly the strongest party. Taking any single 
State in the Union (New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, for 
example), we are the strongest party. Upon the laws of gravi- 
tation, we ought to draw them to us, instead of being drawn to 



OF HENRY CLAY. 

them. They and we agree as to every thing the general Gov- 
ernment can or ought to do. We differ only aboul Ml nry, 
respecting which the general Government has nothing to do. 
In what part of the Federal Constitution can they find any war- 
rant or authority to put down Masonry ? Tt' th y. !•, a pursuit 
of the delusive ohject which, as it respects I I I politics, they 
are prosecuting, should endanger the safely, or occasion the loss 
of great political principles, they will incur a great responsibility, 
and an overwhelming odium. 

I would not abuse them; I would not even attack them. I 
would leave that to the Jackson party. 

Such are my general views on this perplexing question. 

We are on the eve of our great Kentucky contest. I think 
we shall achieve a signal victory. As to the Legislature, we 
can not fail. But such is the arrangement of the Congressional 
Districts, and so nicely are many of them balanced, that we 
may be deceived as to some. Yet I believe we shall gain, at 
least, seven or eight out of the twelve. Prodigious efforts, sec- 
onded by a vast expenditure of money, are making from Wash- 
ington ; and if we fail, it will he because the power of corruption 
is superior to the power of truth. Bo pleased to make my best 
regards to Mrs. Johnston. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Olympian Spedtos, Augusl 15, 1831. 

My dear Sir, — I avail myself of the conveyance afforded by 
a passing traveler to drop you a few lines in respect to our rei 
elections. 

I have not seen all the returns, but the results of enough are 
ascertained to enable me to say, that we shall certainly have the 
majority in the Legislature, and consequently will elect the 
United States Senator. As to the membej of the House of 
Representatives, we have heard of the el i . five of our 

friends. There are opposite rumors as to the sixth. If he be 
elected, the parties will probably to six. 'I\. 

ago they were ten I. 

The most extra. ifforts h . le by tl teral 

Government to carry the election ; and there } reason to believe 



310 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

that, in some instances, highly improper means have been em- 
ployed. For example, in the county of Floyd, composing a part 
of the district from which I now write, where, in the contest be- 
tween Daniel and Trimble, the vote was nearly equally divided, 
Daniel obtained a majority of upward of three hundred votes 
out of six or seven hundred. That county is in the mountains 
of Sandy, the most eastern county of the State. It is almost 
inaccessible. Yet an engineer of the United States arrived there 
in seven days from Philadelphia, on the 27th ultimo, just four 
days before the election, upon a service of reconnoissance, to ef- 
fect objects of internal improvement. It is strongly suspected 
that he used some efficacious instruments. In every other county 
of the district, Daniel lost upon the vote between him and Trim- 
ble ; other parties in the recent contest received respectively 
about the same support that was given on that occasion. But 
in Floyd, Daniel got the majority that has been stated. That 
extraordinary majority is believed to be the result of extraor- 
dinary causes. 

Upon the whole, the issues of our late elections ought, perhaps, 
to be deemed satisfactory. 

If the Berrian correspondence had reached Kentucky in time 
to be circulated throughout the State, prior to the election, there 
would not have been more than two or three Jackson members 
elected to Congress. 



GENERAL DEARBORN TO MR. CLAY. 

r.i:rs-LEY Place, Roxbury, September 3, 1631. 
Much respected Sir, — From conversations with a number 
of your most influential friends in this State, I am induced to 
urge upon you the expediency of your going into the Senate 
of the United States. The next session will be of a very inter- 
esting and momentous character, and your talents, independence, 
and influence extremely dc; I - Your presence will bo a host. 
Not only the great interests of the country require your services, 
but your fellow-citizens, who claim you as their candidate, can 
not be so well subserved, as by your being in "Washington. We 
hope that no motives of delicacy will restrain you. The times 
are portentous, and there is no man in the land who can do so 
much to restore confidence in the stability of the Republic. 



OF HENRY PLAT. 311 

There will be many Richmonds in the field, and each en- 
deavorii . augment his forc< by all means within liis power. 
We want an abler and bett< r man than any of them, to defeat 
their ambitious schemes of aggrandizem d it is indispens- 

able that yon should be at the post of conflict. 

I trust in your magnanimity to excuse this freedom, Lnt f am 
but expressing the opinion of your best friends here. 



MB. ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Qvincy, ber *I, 1831. 

My deak Sir, — A very few clays after transmitting to you a 
copy of an oration composed at the request of my neighbors at 
tli is place. I had the pleasure of receiving your friendly letter 
of the 26th July, which I have delayed answering till I could 
have the opportunity of forwarding with my answer a copy of 
another discourse prepared by invitation of the City Council of 
Boston in honor of our deceased friend and ex-President, Mon- 
roe. 

I have availed myself of both these occasions to lay before 
our countrymen throughout the Union, the opinions which 1 
have constantly entertained upon the doctrine of Nullification, 
and you will have seen that among the States which I have 
charged with directly asserting, or imprudently giving counte- 
nance to it, is your beloved State of Kentucky, as well as my 
own Massachusetts. I believe we are even indebted to Ken- 
tucky for the word, my remark upon which you will perhaps 
think savors of hypercriticism. A letter from Mr. Madison to 
Edward Everett, published last autumn in the " North American 
R view/' disclaims explicitly all intention of resorting to force, 
by the interposition of the State Legislatures to arrest the opera- 
tion of acts of Congress, deemed by snch State Legislatures un- 
constitutional. Holding, as I do, that in our country all the 
powers of Government that can lawfully be exercised emanate 
from the people, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that 
neither the General Government, nor the State Government i can 
lawfully interfere with the appi | i te functions of each other, 
nor exercise any authority or power not delegated to them by 
the people. The State is the creation of the p op] . E of 
the thirteen original States passed by the will of its ; | from 



312 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

the condition of a subject dependent colony, to that of an inde- 
pendent State, united with twelve others, and this operation was 
effected, not by the separate action of each colony, but by the 
joint o] ation of the people of the whole ; and the Congress 
of 177G. assuming to speak in their name, and by their authority, 
fully ioned by their acquiescence, proclaimed this Union to 

the world in the Declaration of Independence. 

The State then is the body corporate formed by the associa- 
tion of the people. The Constitution is the organic law or 
commission of Government. It is the delegation of power to be 
exercised by the public functionaries for the common good. 
Those functionaries can not lawfully travel out of the record in 
the exercise of power. Despotic or autocratic power is not only 
foreign to our institutions, but is expressly interdicted by the 
Declaration of Independence. 

I assumed then that the people of no one State in the Union 
have ever delegated to their Government the right to interpose 
by legislation, to obstruct the operation of any act of Congress. 
That a State legislature may, as an assembly of individuals, re- 
monstrate or petition I do not deny, and this was the only plausi- 
ble ground upon which the Hartford Convention attempted to 
legalize their convocation and proceedings. 

The Government of the Union, is, and necessarily must be, 
the judge of the extent of its own powers. So is the Govern- 
ment of each State. This is an essential attribute not only of 
sovereign but of independent power, and this is after all the re- 
fuge to which the school of despotic sovereignty must fly when 
pursued by the absurdities of their own argument. The Gov- 
ernment of the Union, and the Governments of the States, are 
in their lawful action each independent of the other. But the 
Constitution of the United States exprcssely prohibits the States 
from the exercise of certain powers — high and transcendent pow- 
ers — and this prohibition and its lawfulness is expressly recog- 
nized in the tenth emerrdatory article. Prohibits! who pro- 
hibits ? If the States were the parties to the compact what right 
would either or all of them have to prohibit the exercise of any 
power by any one of them. They might stipulate the non- 

i power; but to prohibit is the action of au- 
thority upon obedience — the relation of law to submission. The 
prohibiting power of the Constitution is — We the People of the 
United That "poor little thing"' as Patrick Henry called 



OF HENRY CLAY. 313 

it, f< the expression, "We the People, instead of the States of Ameri- 
ca." If, therefore, any one State, whether by an act of the 
Legislature or by a convention of its people, authorizes resistant e 

or obstruction to the execution of any act of Congress, it exercis 
a power out of the pale of the Union ; nullifies its own portion 
of the Constitution of the United Stat< s, violates the Declarati< n 
of Independence, and levies war against the United Si tes. 

This is and ever has been my opinion. Now the Virginia and 
Kentucky resolutions of 179S and 1799 ; the opinion of Judge 
M'Kean and the Olmsted case in Pennsylvania ; the Hartford 
Convention, and the proceedings of the Legislature of Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut authorizing that assembly ; the opinions 
of the Judges Parsons, Scwell, and Parker, of the Supreme Court 
of Massachusetts, given to the Legislature of the State ; Spa- 
cer Roane's project of a bill in the " Richmond Enquirer/' and the 
doctrines of Calhoun and his squad at this day, all assert or coun- 
tenance a right of interposition by the States, against acts of 
Congress, which I find nowhere delegated to the States. Mr. 
Madison disclaims for the Virginia Resolutions all purpose of 
counteracting legislation; his southern disciples appeal from the 
commentary to the text, and Hamilton, the nullifier, charges him 
with desertion of his own principles. 

The doctrine, in all its parts, is so adverse to my convictions 
that I can view it in no other light than organized civil war. 
That it has the sanction of high and venerable names makes it 
but the more portentous of evil to the Union. Mr. Calhoun is 
but a pupil of the Hartford Convention, though he takes special 
care not to include them in his citation of authorities. Parsons 
and Roane, and M'Kean, and Jefferson have all been nullifiert 
when in a pa a. Mr. Madison alone has explained, when 
cool, what he said when warm, and it extracts from the doctrine 
its venom if not its sting. 

The doctrine has never yet been carried into effect. In the 
Olmsted case the issue was made, but nullifii r lighting 

the match, flinched from her quarters. It is the odious nature 
of the question that it can be settled only at the cannon's mouth. 
The South Carolina nullifiers appear determined to come to that 
point, and I hear our sober friend Leu. Inn ( up 

his mind that the Union must be dissolved lor incompatibility 
of interests between North and South. What shall we do with 
these heroes ? 



314 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

The papers in the "United States Gazette" upon the colonial 
trade arrangement, were written by Edward Ingersoll. 

Mrs. Adams unites with me in offering our respectful regards 
to Mrs. Clay. We hope her health is entirely restored, and re- 
joice at the good account we have of yours, particularly from 
Mr. George Eustis, who lately saw you. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, October 4, 1831. 

My dear Sir, — T was rejoiced to learn, by your letter of the 
4th ultimo, that both your health and spirits were good. I hope 
they have so continued, and may long remain. 

I have received no letter from Mr. Randolph lately. I do not 
think it worth while longer to press him on a point which he 
evidently evades. 

It appears to me to be right that I should put you in possession 
of at least a brief outline of the policy which I think adapted to 
the present state of the country. This I do, not for the purpose 
of publication, but that you may have the means of correcting 
any error that may fall in your way as to my real opinions. 
Such a correction might also, if necessary, be made in " The 
Whig ;" not, however, to be done at my instance, nor upon 
my authority. 

I agree with Mr. Calhoun, that the next session of Congress is 
a suitable time for such a modification of the Tariff as is called 
for by the near approach of the payment of the public debt. 
The modification may be prospective, to take effect on the hap- 
pening of that event ; or, if there be any particular article, the 
duty on which is burdensome, there might, as to that duty, be 
an immediate reduction, or abolition. There is a great advan- 
tage to merchants, as well as to consumers, to have adequate no- 
tice of a change in the existing Tariff. The Executive, too, 
might avail itself of the contemplated and distant alteration, to 
secure, in consideration of it, more favorable terms of commer- 
cial intercourse with foreign nations. 

There ought, I think, to be a dispensation with duties to an 
amount, after the payment of the public debt, equal to the sink- 
ing fund of ten millions, which are annually appropriated to 
that object. This should be effected by an abolition or rcd.ic- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 315 

tion of duties on articles not coming into competition with the 
produce of our agriculture, or the fabrics of our manufacturers. 

In other words, I think the principle of protection should he 
preserved unimpaired, in its application to our domestic indus- 
try; but, at the same time, that no more revenue should be col- 
lected than is necessary to an economical Administration. Laws 
ought to he passed to enforce strict execution of the Tariff, by 
detecting and punishing all evasions. An arrangement of the 
Tariff upon the principles stated, would be in conformity with 
what was always admitted by Southern statesmen, that is, that 
protection might he incidentally afforded in the collection of 
revenue. 

I have no idea of the propriety of laying or continuing du- 
ties for the purpose • of accumulating surpluses. And as to the 
doctrine of distributing any such surpluses among the several 
States, I think there is not the slightest authority for it in the 
Constitution. The general Government can no more devolve 
upon the States the duty of discharging any one of its own 
powers than the States can delegate to the general Government, 
without an annulment of the Constitution, the duty of local or 
municipal legislation. 

In regard to internal improvements, I never have thought 
or contended, that a single cent of duty ought to he laid or con- 
tinued for their promotion. I believe the power is possessed by 
the general Government. In any prudent adjustment of the 
Tariff to produce a revenue, say of twelve millions, sound pol- 
icy requires that a deficit should be guarded against by laying 
duties enough. In some years, owing to the fluctuations of 
commerce, there may be a surplus, which might not be wanted. 
Such an occasional surplus, I would apply to the purpose of in- 
ternal improvements. 

But the great resource on which I think we should rely for 
that object, after the payment of the public debt, is the proceeds 
of the sales of the public lands. There is an obvious fitness in 
such an appropriation. And I think that a more liberal applica- 
tion to the Western States ought to be made, of this fund, than 
to the others, for two reasons ; 1st. That the public domain is 
there situated, and improvements in that quarter ha 1 
to enhance the value of the unsold residue ; 'id. As a sort of 
counterbalance to the expenditures on a navy and fortifications; 
which are for the more immediate benefit of the maritime fron- 



316 PRIVATE CORRESPOXBEXCE 

tier. It is trnc ; that each part of the Union is concerned in the 
safety and prosperity of every other part. But this interest is 
sometimes only indirect. The maritime States would have 
quite as much of this indirect interest in internal improvements 
made under the authority of the general Government, in the 
"West, as the Western States would have in Eastern fortifications 
and a navy. But I would leave the consideration of what is 
due to the Western States, from the above views, to the enlight- 
ened sense of Congress. 

I think the Charter of the Bank of the United States ought to 
be renewed upon equitable conditions. I am perfectly willing 
to abide by the reasons which I assigned for a change of my 
opinion (the only change of opinion I ever made on a great po- 
litical question) relative to that institution, and which are to be 
found in my published speeches. 

I have thus hastily sketched my views of the policy which is 
applicable to the present condition of our country. I repeat 
that they are not intended for publication, nor, for reasons which 
will readily occur to you, do I wisli any copy of this letter given 
to any one, for any purpose. 

The doings of the Anti-Masonic Convention at Baltimore, 
have not yet reached us. From all I have heard, I presume 
Mr. M'Lean, of Ohio, has been nominated. I do not believe 
that he has the moral courage to accept the nomination. But, 
to quote from your neighbor, nous verrons. If the alternative 
be between Andrew Jackson and an Anti-Masonic candidate, 
with his exclusive prescriptive principles, I should be embar- 
rassed in the choice. I am not sure that the old tyranny is not 
better than a new one. That can endure, at the furthest, only 
four or five years more, while the latter might be of indefinite 
duration. The one is an exhausted volcano, the other would 
be the bursting of a new eruption, spreading no one can tell to 
what extent, nor how long it would last. 

I believe, either that Mr. McLean Avill not accept, or, if he 
does, that he will be ultimately abandoned, from the impractica- 
bility of his cl< in which case the great body of the Anti- 
Masons will support me, not because they love me, but because 
they hate Jackson more, and because there is greater coincidence 
between their political principles and mine. 

You sugL the propriety of publishing an extract from a let- 
ter you addressed to me, disclaiming any wish for a federal ap- 



OF HENBT CLAY. 81 i 

pointmcnt in any contingency. I have seen nothing which 
questions your disinterestedness; and. therefore, why make the 
publication? Might not such a publication be de< m< 'I a gratui- 
tous and unnecessary display? I requesl your reconsideration. 

I am glad that Virginia resolves to be represented in the Balti- 
more Convention. Whatever doubts might originally have ex- 
isted about the policy of that movement, it has now procei 
too far to be abandoned. And it is therefore desirable that 
there should be a full and respectable assembly. 

1 am strongly urged to go to the Senate, and I am now con- 
sidering whether I can subdue my repugnance to the service. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY.. 

Boston, October 5, ] 
My dear Sir, — Mr. Everett was kind enough to show me 
your letter to him, stating the results of the Kentucky election. 

It is doubtless true that some regret was felt in this quarter, 
that those results were not more strongly in our favor, but, upon 
the whole, a general satisfaction as to that matter now prevails, and 
all think that Kentucky has at least, by a certain, if not by a 
great majority, declared against the present Administration. For 
my own part, I can say, with great truth and sincerity, that I 
know no political men more deserving the thanks of the coun- 
try, than our friends in Kentucky. I have some conception of 
the obstacles with which they have had to contend, not for once, 
but for many times, and their spirit, zeal, and perseverance in 
maintaining the cause of good government, place them, in my 
judgment, in the first class of really patriotic citizens. Thisopinion 
I often express, and it gives me always pleasure to express it. 
Whatever events may come upon us, I t le, a debt of 

gaatitude to the good men of Kentucky, for the firmness with 
which they have breasted a storm, which has threatened, and I 
think still threatens, to overturn, not only the interests and insti- 
tutions, but the Constitution of the country. 

You must be aware, my dear sir, of the strong desire mani- 
fested in many parts of the country, that you should come into 
the Senate. There is, certainly, a strong feeling of that sort, 
all along the Atlantic coast. I learn its existence from private 
letters, as well as from the public newspapers. The wish is en- 



318 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

tertaincd here, as earnestly as any -where. For myself, I hardly 
know what my own wishes are, because I suppose Mr. Critten- 
den will, of course, be thought of again. He has so much 
talent and fitness for the place, is, according to my apprehension 
of his character, so true and trustworthy, has done so much for 
the general good, and been so marked an object besides, for the 
opposition and reproach of the present dominant party at Wash- 
ington, that I find myself incapable of desiring any thing in- 
compatible with his wishes or expectations. But I know not 
what his wishes arc. Independent of considerations of this 
kind, the force of which you can weigh infinitely better than I 
can, I should entirely concur with others in deeming it most ex- 
pedient for you to come now into the Senate. We are to have 
an interesting and an arduous session. Every thing is to be 
attacked. An array is preparing much more formidable than 
has ever yet assaulted, what we think, the leading and important 
public interests. Not only the Tariff, but the Constitution it- 
self, in its elementary and fundamental provisions, will be as- 
sailed with talent, vigor, and union. Every thing is to be 
debated, as if nothing had ever been settled. Yon perceive 
imposing proceedings, under high names, going on in Philadel- 
phia. You see measures adopted to try the Constitution, further 
South. You see, every where, I think, omens of a contest of no 
ordinary character. At the same time, discouraging things are 
happening, such as the Baltimore nomination and its acceptance. 
I assure you, my dear sir, with the prospect of toil and labor 
which is before me, if honor and conscience were not in the 
way, I would give my place to another. But these dictate to me, 
or seem to, that, so far as depends on so humble an individual 
as myself, the crisis must be met. But it would be an infinite 
gratification to have your aid, or rather your lead. I speak in 
unaffected sincerity and truth, when I say that I should rejoice, 
personally, to meet you in the Senate. I am equally sincere in 
saying that the cause would, under present circumstances be 
materially benefited by your presence there. I know nothing so 
likely to be useful. Every thing valuable in the Government 
is to be fought for, and we need your arm in the fight. At the 
same time, my dear sir, I would not, even thus privately and 
confidentially to you, say any thing not consistent with deli- 
cacy and friendship for Mr. Crittenden, for whose character 
I have great regard, and toward whom you and others have 



OF HENRY CLAY. 

taught me to entertain the feelings of a friend. Would to ' 
we could have you both, at tin , i in the public coum 

1 ought to thank you for your kindness to several friends i f 

mine, who have ( ' you in the course of the se They 

cx\ ress themselves highlj gratified by your hospitality and good 
offic 

I pray a most respectful remembrance to Mrs. Clay, and !• 
that at some time, on one or the other side of the mountains, 
Mrs. Webster may have the pleasure of making her acquaint- 
ance. Clark, Letcher, and Kincaird, I believe, are not at great 
distances from Lexington. If you see them, tender my regards 
to them. I hope you will let me hear from you. 



TIMOTHY PICKERING TO MPw CLAY. 

Boston, October 22, 1831. 

Dear Sir, — Will you permit an ardent political friend to ad- 
dress you upon a subject of the highest importance. 

You are already aware that the Hon. William Wirt has been 
nominated by a very respectable Convention at Baltimore, for 
the high office of President of the United States. 

You are aware that at the election of J. Q. Adams, you were 
accused of bargain and corruption. You may be aware, also, 
that no respectable man of good information does now believe it. 

You recollect that you stated your conviction of General 
Jackson's inability, and notorious incompetency to fill that high 
station, and put your character and motives upon the issue. 

You are aware that the present organization renders your elec- 
tion impossible. 

You are aware that the sentiments of Mr. Wirt, upon the 
great and important points of our domestic policy are in unison 
with your own. 

w, sir, since your own election is impossible, would it not 
lie the greatest blessing which you could possibly confer upon 
your country, to retire from the contest, and let all your forces 
be brought over to Mr. Wirt's side, and thus, by securing his 
election, you would be the mean-; of delivering the country f i 
the domination of the present weak and imbecile Administration. 

Please to accept these remarks from a constant political friend. 



320 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MRS. ERWIN TO HER FATHER, MR. CLAY. 

New Orleans, December 8, 1831. 

Mr dear Father, — I wrote mamma last from Cahaba. Not 
being certain whether she would go to Washington or not. I ad- 
dressed my letter to Lexington, so that you will probably receive 
this one before that. We went on board of the boat a few hours 
after I wrote, and had a very pleasant passage of two days to 
Mobile, where we remained a week with our friends. We left 
there on the 4th, expecting to be here in twenty-four hours, but, 
owing to the steamboat being badly managed, we were two days 
and three nights in coming. We had a most comfortless time, 
and on arriving here found our friends very anxious about us, as 
there was a report that we were lost. I was delighted at finding 
Henry here. He has not been very well for a day or two past, 
but is in good spirits and appears to be very much pleased with 
the prospect of settling here. All of our friends have been very 
kind and attentive to him. Old Mr. Henderson gave him a dinner 
at which he invited some of the oldest gentlemen in the city to 
meet him. This was intended, of course, as a great compliment 
to his understanding. We found our rooms, that Mr. Erwin had 
engaged last spring, ready for us, and I think we shall be quite 
pleasantly situated. I am as yet the only lady in the house, but 
as we have a private table I shall prefer it, as I must necessarily 
be a greater belle, there being no competition in the case ; and 
you know, my dear father, too well for me to disguise the fact, 
that all ladies like the attention of gentlemen. I have not 
as yet had time to see any of my friends except Aunt Clay. The 
weather for the last two weeks has been detestable. Judge 
Porter called this morning to see us. He appears to be in good 
health, but is of course very dejected. His daughter will remain 
in the city this winter with Mrs. Judge Matthews, and will spend 
next summer with me in Kentucky. 

****** * 

I hope, my dear father, you will not be so entirely absorbed 
in politics but that you will find time to write us frequently. 
Present me affectionately to all those persons who remember me 
in Washington, and give Mr. Erwin's love as well as mine tc 
mamma. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 321 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOK K. 

Washington, Deceml l, I SI. 
My dear Sir. — I have received your favi r of the 7th in tant. 

That to which it refers was not received by me until after my 
return from Illinois, and after my election to the Senate. As 
this latter event brought me nearer to you, I conclude 1 to post- 
pone writing until I reached this city, and even now I have noth- 
ing material to communicate which the papers do not present. 
Parties have not yet exhibited their respectiv ;. ;e:th; nor, 
except the election of Speaker, has there been any occasion for 
its display. In that instance, there was evidently no concert 
between those opposed to the Administration ; and such a con- 
cert I apprehend to be extremely difficult, if not impossible. 
You will have seen from the message, and from the reports of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, and his colleagues, that the en- 
tire policy of the Government, in relation to every one of the 
great interests of the country, is proposed to be changed. Was 
there ever a wilder scheme than that respecting the public lands? 

The impression here is, that the Baltimore Convention will 
make a nomination of me. I wish I could add that the impres- 
sion was more favorable, than it is of the success of such a nom- 
ination. Something, however, may turn up (and that must be 
our encouraging hope) to give a brighter aspect to our affairs. 

I shall be glad to receive the long letter promised in your last. 



HORTON HOWARD TO MR. CLAY. 

Columbus, Deccn bcr 19, 1S31. 

Esteemed Fbiend, — I had but one objection to thy going to 
Washington at present, and the good that I hoped would result 
from it overcame that objection. 1 nevertheless feel it my duty, 
as one of thy real friends, to caution thee to be at all times on 
thy guard. I have no doubt that attempts will be made, in 
many ways, to get thee out of the way. 

Now, so long as thou bears in mind that thou art accountable 
to thy Creator lor the talents he has committed to thee for the 
promotion of his glory, and that while on earth it must he pro- 
moted by rendering benefits to his creature man, so long his pro- 
tecting Providence will preserve thee from harm. So long as 

•Jl 



322 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

the knowledge thou possesses that this nation claims thee as its 
property, and has a right to thy services in this eventful period, 
continues to be duly estimated, so long, I conceive, thou wilt so 
far disregard the machinations of the wicked as to contemn the 
foolish laws of honor, as they are falsely called. They have al- 
ready been an injury to thee. Thy country knows thou pos- 
sesses courage enough of this kind, as well as of a much higher 
and dignified kind. If insults or challenges should be again of- 
fered, it now expects thee to give the most unequivocal evidence 
that thou also possesses courage of a vastly more exalted and dig- 
nified character, and of course that with the stern independence 
and elevation of mind which has marked or distinguished thy 
political course, thou wilt with fearless intrepidity discountenance 
such false pretenses to honor, both by example and preceDt. 

I do not fear its giving offense, and make no apology for this 
freedom of communication. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 25, 1831. 

My dear Sir, — With the compliments of the season, I ac- 
knowledge the receipt of your favor of the 15th instant. Here 
we have nothing new. Opinions are in a progress of formation 
on the leading measures of the session. That of the Tariff will 
be the most difficult and agitating. I fear that there will be no 
agreement among parties, either as to the amount of the reduc- 
tion of the revenue, or the objects on which it shall be effected. 
The ultras of South Carolina are very wrong-headed on the latter 
point. They appear to be bent on the destruction of the system 
of protection, or on their own destruction. 

The Executive is playing a deep game to avoid, at this session, 
the responsibility of any decision on the Bank question. It is 
not yet ascertained whether the bank, by forbearing to apply for 
a renewal of their Charter, will or will not conform to the wishes 
of the President. I think they will act very unwisely if they 
do not apply. 

You say tho Calhoun party has almost disappeared at Rich- 
mond. Judging from the number of the members of the Gen- 
eral Assembly who attended the late caucus, I should suppose all 
parties but that of Jacksou bad disappeared in Virginia. 1 see 



OF HENRY (.'LAY. 323 

"The Whig" has repeatedly admitted that the National Repub- 
lican party is in the minority. T suppose it is so, hut is it politic 
to make such an admission ? Will such an admission secure ad- 
ditional strength, or any credit even for candor J Is it consistent 
with the purpose of making a struggle, if "that he designed in 
\ irginia ? 



MRS. ERWIN* TO HER FATHER, MR. CLAY. 

"m v. Oku ins, January 7. 1832. 

My dear Father, — I to-day received your favor of the 25th 
of Decemher, and read it with more than ordinary pleasure as 
we had not heard a word from you since your arrival at Wash- 
ington, although we had been tantalized with a sight of your 
handwriting, as you had inclosed the Message both to Mr. Er- 
win and Henry. You have no doubt heard before this, that 
Claiborne lias declined returning this winter ; it is owing to his 
health, which is much better than it was when he left here; but 
he writes that his eyes are still so much affected that he thinks 
it prudent for him to remain at least another year. They have 
elected Mr. Dixon to fill his place ; he is a warm partisan of 
yours, and was elected by one vote over Mr. Marigny, but the 
opposite party speak of contesting the election. It is not sup- 
posed, however, that they will succeed in turning Mr. D 
out. So much for politics. You see it is impossible to be the 
daughter of a politician without, at least, knowing what is 
going on. 

We have been suffering here with the same influenza which 
appears to be prevailing at the North. The Creoles have felt it 
more than the Americans. Indeed in some cases where the indi- 
viduals were old, it has proved fatal. Mrs. Clay has been se- 
verely attacked. She was confined to her bed for several days, 
and has not left the house for more than two weeks. I am glad 
to be able to say that she is much better now. Mr. Duralde 
also has been quite sick with it; but I believe he is well enough 
now to go down to his saw-mill. 

Henry has commenced the study of law under Judge Porter's 

* Mrs. Erwin was a favorite child, and obtain.'. 1 t he strongest hold on her 
father's heart. Mr. Erwin had a country Beat at Lexington, adjoining Ashland, 
called the " Woodlands," a beautiful plaee, where the family resided in summer 



32-i PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

directions. He complains a little of the large folios he sends 
him, and thinks the Judge does not estimate his talents quite 
high enough when he supposes it will require two years of hard 
study to prepare him to commence the practice. The Jud 
family appears to be completely broken up since the death of 
Miss Eliza. He has taken lodgings in town, and his daughter 
is passing the winter with Mrs. Mathews. I have invited her to 
spend the ensuing summer with me, and her father has promised 
that she should accompany us on our return to Kentucky. Wo 
have not heard a word from Lexington since the 29th of No- 
vember. The river being frozen up, there is no communication at 
all between this and the Western country. The last letter I 
received was from James. I was very much gratified to find 
that he writes an uncommonly good letter for so young a boy. 

I have been so fortunate as to find an infant-school established 
here upon the same plan as those at the North, where I send the 
boys. They did not like to go much at first, but by giving ihcm 
a few sugar-plums every day I hired them for the first week, 
and they are now becoming interested in it. It is a very great 
relief to me to know that they are doing well and are out of 
mischief from nine until three every day.. Little Lucre tia grows 
every day. She is the most mischievous child of her age I ever 
saw. Aunt Lotty and she have at least a dozen quarrels a day. 
I can not thank my dear mother enough, for having spared 
Lotty to me. She is the best creature I ever saw, and appears 
to be quite as much attached to the children, as she ever was to 
yours. 

Tell mamma I shall certainly execute her commission with a 
great deal of pleasure, and if she can think of any thing else 
she wishes, you will have quite time to let me know, as we 
we shall not leave this before the 1st of March. I have begun 
to make her the collection of baskets she wished me to get for 
her. The children all send a kiss to their dear grandparents, 'as 
well as their love to Henry Duralde. Mr. Erwin joins me in 
love both to mamma and yourself. If Uncle Brown is with 
you, you will remember us both affectionately to him. You 
will please say to him that Mr. Erwin will be happy to render 
him any service in this country in his power. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 325 



JOSEPH HOW ATW TO Mil. CLAY. 

'In , in. Ohio, January 27, 1832. 
Much esteemed Friend, — Permit me to herewith inclose to 
thy acceptance the last Annual Repi it of our f ' mal Commission- 
ers, by which it will he seen that one more link will shortly be 
completed in the great chain which, I hope, when completed, 
will add greatly to the strength and perpetuity of our Union. 
As it is at all times a source of gratitude to the parent, to sec his 
children as they advance in years advance toward perfection, so 
it must be a source of great satisfaction to the great parent and 
author of a system which but a few years ago existed only in 
theory, now to see it rapidly advancing toward the highest state 
of perfection that was anticipated by its author. Under this 
view of the subject it is then that I take the liberty of present- 
ing the inclosed document to the universally-acknowledged 
author of a system which has, either directly or indirectly, con- 
tributed greatly to the projection and consummation of this stu- 
pendous work ; a system which, if cherished, will be a rich legacy 
for future generations. 



LESLIE COMBS TO MR. CLAY. 

Lexington, January 27, 1832. 

My dear Sir, — You have made a very sensible speech on 
your proposition to take off certain duties and reduce others. 
You occupied ihc true ground on every point you made, and did 
it with becoming temper. I regret that the Southrons are crazy, 
but let them fret ; you must not quarrel with them. You occu- 
py higher ground than any of them, and must look down upon 
them and sooth them, not yourself play the gladiator. That 
would do for me, if I were in Congress ; as I am not, others must 
do it. Your course must be above all partisan warfare, and God 
will speed you. It must be for the Union, the whole Union, and 
nothing but the Union. 

I am daily laboring to raise the caloric in our friends on this 
side the mountains. They arc too cold, and selfish, and lethar- 
gic for me, but I never give up a good cause while there is a 
man in the field or a shot in the locker. 



326 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



PATRICK HENRY TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, February 18, 1832. 
Sir, — I have not yet had the honor of a personal acquaintance 
with you, but as we claim Virginia as our nativity (where I 
live and expect to die), and as my admiration for your character 
and principles admits of no comparison with the most distin- 
guished living, I feel at liberty to make a suggestion, and, 
if it should meet with your views of liberal policy, for which 
you have been so much distinguished, I shall be very much 
gratified. It is that Henry Clay should forthwith introduce a 
resolution for the purchase of Mount Vernon ; the improved 
grounds including the park, extending to the gate leading to 
Alexandria, with any other addition of land to the north and 
south of the mansion as may be thought desirable by Congress. 
If it should be the pleasure of Congress to make the purchase, 
the country would not only be in possession of the remains of 
the Father of the Republic, but would be enabled to preserve 
and use the property for some national purpose. It would be ad- 
visable (should this project meet with your approbation) first to 
ascertain through your friend, G. C. Washington, whether the 
proprietor of Mount Vernon would be willing to sell the property 
to the United Slates. Wishing you all the honors that can be 
conferred by your country, I am, sir, your most obedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 21, 1832. 

My dear Sir, — I have been so constantly occupied, that I 
have not been able to write you as much or as often as I wished. 
That terrible long speech of mine in the Senate, which gave me 
less trouble in its delivery than it has since occasioned me, is 
now in the hands of the printer, and being disposed of, leaves 
me at leisure to say a few words. 

Every thing is going on well. Van Buren, old Hickory, and 
the whole crew, will, [ think, in due time, be gotten rid of. 
The attempt to excite public sympathy in behalf of the little 
Magician has totally failed ; and I sincerely wish that he may 
be nominated as Vice-President. That is exactly the point to 



OF HENRY CLAY. 327 

which I wish to sec matters brought. Do urge our Jacl • 
friends (if there he any that you can approach i to nominate him 
im the 28th. It will be so consistent that they should support 
him who is, or at least pretends to have be in, for the Tariff, and 
oppose all others who are for it. 

We have had various affairs here, and of which the papers 
will give you some account. The most bitter i f tli<' opposition 
is the Calhoun clement. I heard to-day that a South Carolina 
Governor is in correspondence with a Virginia Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor. Will our friend Lloyd on that occasion call out the 
posse, as he was supposed by some here to have intended to 
prevent the removal of the remains of Washington? 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

.New Orleans, February 28, 1832. 

Dear Father, — I am now living at Judge Porter's, on the 
coast. I found that in the city I was so much interrupted by 
the kindness of friends and acquaintance, that I could not de- 
vote that time to study which I desired. At the solicitation of 
the Judge, I therefore determined to spend in the country the 
few months that I shall be in Louisiana. 

Judge Porter's residence, as you will recollect, is near the 
battle-ground, three or four miles from the city. He has an ex- 
cellent library, and is himself a learned man in the law, animat- 
ed with the best spirit of learning, that which applies useful 
maxims to the common wants of mankind. 

The civil law begins to open before me. What I thought the 
study of a year, I perceive now would exhaust the energies of 
a lifetime. But I am determined, if ever I shall arrive at an in- 
dependence of fortune, to carry what little talents and attain- 
ments I may possess to another tribunal than the bo.r of justice, 
the tribunal of public debate. 

I am at present making all exertions to gain a knowledge <>l 
the law, and I have no reason, I think, to be dissatisfied with 
my progress. By the winter after next, I shall be able to come 
to the bar with a fair prospect of ultimate success. 



328 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



JAMES BARBOUR TO MR. CLAY. 

Baebouesyille, March 7, 1832. 

Dear Sir, — You have obliged me much by furnishing me 
with your speech on the Tariff. It is th • . lew I have 

ever seen < n ihe subject. If the facts are true to which you re- 
fer as the basis of your argument, your argument is unanswer- 
able. I duly appreciate the necessity which induced yen to in- 
troduce some remarks merely ad captandum. Contending as 
you arc with an enemy using poisoned weapons, the right of de- 
fense extends to the employment of what otherwise might not 
be considered very legitimate means. 

Your positions are judicious, and you have ably defended 
them. Great perspicuity is your leading characteristic. 



HARRISON GREY OTIS TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, March 8, 1S32. 
Dear Sir, — I had read your admirable speech with great de- 
light, and pondered its contents, before I received the copy 
which you did me the honor to transmit. This, however, was 
not the less acceptable, as, in addition to the value of the atten- 
tion, it gives me a right and an excuse for making my personal 
acknowledgment, without claiming or expecting a reply ; know- 
ing by long experience that no class of men are more in need of 
" protecting duties" from the uninvited consignments of corre- 
spondents, who expect remittances which interfere with time 
and convenience, than the members of Cong] And though 

the voice of one individual contributes little to swell the note of 
acclamation which you hear from all quarters, yet mine is enti- 
tled to something of more value than that of anybody, inasmuch 
as the only lance I ever broke with you was in defense of hemp 
and molasses, when you came forth as the champion of Mr. 
Baldwin's bill, which I dare say you have forgotten. But tern- 
pora mutantur, and I am among those who have been coerced 
by the policy of government mutari cum Mis. Among the ex- 
cellencies of your speech, that in my mind \ r< lominates which 
calls the agricultural, and especially the mechanical class, to look 
to the case as their own. 



OF HENBY CLAY. 329 



MR. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Mootpeixbr, March ] 
J. Madison, with his best respects to Mr. Clay, thanks him 
the copy of his speech " In defense of the ! ican System," 
etc. It is a very able, a very eloquent, and a very inti 
one. If it does not establish all its positions, in all their extent, 
it demolishes not a few of those relied on by the opponents. J. 
M. feels a pleasure in offering this tribute to its merits. But he 
must be pardoned for expressing a regret that an effusion of 
sonal feeling was, in one instance, admitted into the discussion. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 17, 183 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 15th. I am sorry 
that I can give you no satisfactory information as to the course 
of Georgia in respect to the recent decision of the Supreme Court. 
It is rumored that the President has repeatedly said that he will 
not enforce it, and that he even went so far as to express his 
hope, to a Georgia member of Congress, thai Georgia would sup- 
port her rights. 

The Committee of Investigation into the conduct of the Bi 
leave here oh Wednesday, for Philadelphia. The impression 
now is, that the Bank Charter will pass at this session. Mr. 
Adams, being appointed one of the Committee, took the occasion 
to ask to be excused from serving on the Committee of Manu- 
factures, as its Chairman ; whereupon the head was immediately 
knocked out of a barrel of oil, and the whole quantity poured on 
him by Southern gentlemen, and other anti-Tariffites. He was 
induced to postpone his motion. 

I have requested Messrs. Gales & Seaton to send fifty of my 
peeches to Mr. White. 



MR. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Dear Sir, — I have duly received yours of the 17th. Alt) 
you kindly release me from a reply, it may be proper to say, that 



330 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

some of the circumstances to which you refer were not before 
known to me. 

On the great question before Congress, on which so much de- 
ls out of Congress, I ought the less to obtrude an opinion, as 
its merits essentially depend on details which I never investi- 
gated, and of which I am an incompetent judge. I know only 
that the Tariff, in its present amount and form, is a source of 
deep and extensive discontent ; and I fear that, without allevia- 
tions, separating the more moderate from the more violent oppo- 
nents, very serious effects are threatened. Of these, the most 
formidable, and not the least probable, would be a Southern Con- 
vention, the avowed object of some, and the unavowed object 
of others whose views are, perhaps, still more to be dreaded. 
The disastrous consequences of disunion, obvious to all, would 
no doubt be a powerful check on its partisans ; but such a con- 
vention, characterized as it would be by selected talents, ardent 
zeal, and the confidence of those represented, would not be easily 
stopped in their course ; especially, as many of the members, 
though not carrying with them particular aspirations for the hon- 
ors, etc., presented to ambition on a new political theater, would 
find them germinating in such a hot-bed. 

To these painful ideas I can only oppose hopes and wishes, 
that notwithstanding the wide space and warm feelings which 
divide the parties, some accommodating arrangements may be 
devised that will prove an immediate anodyne, and involve a 
lasting remedy to the Tariff discords. 

Mrs. Madison charges me with her affectionate remembrances 
to Mrs. Clay, to whom I beg to be at the same time respectfully 
prescnted, with a re-assurance to yourself of my high esteem and 
cordial regards. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 2S, 1S32. 
My dear Sir, — You will have seen the disposition made on 
Thursday last of my resolution respecting the Tariff. On that 
occasion some developments were made of a scheme which I have 
long since MJ-pected — that certain portions of the South were dis- 
posed to purcha ie support to the anti-Tariff doctrines, by a total 
sacrifice of the public lands to States within which they are situated. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 331 

A. more stupendous, and more flagitious project was never con- 
ceived. It will fail in iis object, but it ought to be denounce d. 
A majority of the Senate (composed of all the anti-Tariff Senators, 
and souk 1 of the Jackson Tariff Senators), referred a resolution 
concerning the public lands to the Committee of Manufactutt 
Canyon conceive a more incongruous association of subjec 
There were twoobjects. The first I have suggested ; the sec 
was to affect me personally, by placing me in a situation in which 
I must report unfavorably to the Western and South-Western 
States, which are desirous of possessing themselves of the public 
lands. I think I shall disappoint the design, by presenting such 
views of that great interest as will he sanctioned by the nation. 
Meantime, I should be glad if you would give some hints to our 
friend Pleasants,- and let him sound the tocsin. In Illinois there 
are about forty millions of acres of public land, and about one 
hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty thousand people. 
What think you of giving that large amount of land to that com- 
paratively small number of people ? If it were nominally sold 
to them, it would, in the end, amount to a mere donation. 

We have nothing new about the course of Georgia, and the 
President's intention as to the decision of the Supreme Court. 
The current opinion is that he will not enforce it. 

We shall report in part, in a day or two, a bill limited to a 
repeal of duties on the unprotected class of foreign imports, re- 
serving for future report the other class, as to which, however, 
I do not anticipate that any thing can be done to satisfy South 
Carolina. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 1, 1832. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 29th ultimo, com- 
municating the tenor of a conversation with Governor Floyd. 
At the time that the Governor appeared as a. witness before the 
public to testify against me, during the late Administration, I was 
surprised and hurt, and thought he took a course utterly in 
sistent with the friendly relations which had previously existed 
between us, to say nothing of the opposite views which he and 
I took of the matter to which his testimony related. But, what- 
ever feelings were excited in my mind at the time, they have 



302 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

been long since thrown aside, with a mass of analogous feelings 
awakened during an ardent and angry Presidential contest. My 
nature is such as to prompt me to forget these things, and I 
should be sorry if it were otherwise. 

The clew to the motives which induced Governor Floyd 
voluntarily to make that explanation, T have discovered here 
since I received your letter. A design exists, on the part of Mr. 
Calhoun and his friends, to have his name presented as a can- 
didate, provided they conceive that he will stand any chance of 
getting three or four Southern States ; and provided, as the 
means of their accomplishing that object, our friends will co- 
operate in Virginia, and south of it, with his, to give him their 
votes. Mr. Calhoun had, at his instance, a conversation with a 
friend of mine, which was general, and understood by that friend, 
to be preliminary to another which Duff Green subsequently sought 
with him. In the course of this latter, Duff explained fully the 
views and wishes of the Calhoun party. These are, that his name 
shall, in the course of the ensuing summer (say August), be pre- 
sented as a candidate ; that, if no ticket is run in Virginia by our 
friends, and if they will co-operate with his, he can obtain the vote 
of that State : that, with a fair prospect of receiving the vote of 
Virginia, he will obtain those also of North Carolina, Georgia, 
and South Carolina, and probably of Alabama and Mississippi: 
that the result would be to defeat the re-election of General 
Jarkson, and to devolve the election on the House ; that there 
they suppose I would be elected ; and that they would be satis- 
fied with my election. Such is the general outline of their 
project, the details of which were communicated by Dull' after 
the previous general conversation with Mr. Calhoun. My friend 
presumed their intention was that he should communicate to me 
what passed, and he has accordingly communicated it. Duff 
stated that the success of the whole plan of the campaign, on 
their part, required that our friends should not present an electoral 
ticket; and, moreover, should support them in Virginia. 

I have neither said nor clone any thing in reply to all this, to 
commit my friends or myself. I could not, without dishonor, 
have ventured upon any sort of commitment of them. They 
are, in fact, free, and so I wish them to remain, to act according 
to their own sense of propriety. 

As to the proji ct itself, I have supposed that Mr. Calhoun has 
too little capital any where, out of South Carolina, to engraft 



OF HENRY CLAY. 333 

upon ; that it would be impracticable, if it were desirable, to in- 
duce our friends in Virginia to abandon all purpo e of sup] 

ing a ticket on our side, and of co-operating in the support of 
one for Mr. Calhoun; that if such a concocted movement w r< 
made, it would be very probably defeated by the imputations 
which would he brought against it: and that the whole idea has 
sprung out of the desperate condition of Mr. Calhoun's pr< 
If there coidd be any movement at -the South which would se- 
cure to Mr. Calhoun the vote of three or four Southern 
next to their being given to our cause, it would, undoubtedly, 
be the best thing that could happen for us. It would e. 
where else stimulate our friends to the greatest exertions, by 
holding out the hope of certain success. It would break the 
power of Jacksonism, and discourage his friends in other States 
quite as much as it would animate ours. 

Let me, my dear friend, hear from you on this matter, and 
particularly your views as to the strength of the party of Mr. 
Calhoun in Virginia. Has it not relapsed into Jacksonism? 
Could it be brought forth again, in its original force, to the 
support of Mr. Calhoun ? Supposing Mr. Calhoun is not put for- 
ward as a candidate, what course, generally, will his friends in 
Virginia pursue? Could our friends be prevailed upon to unite 
on a ticket for Mr. Calhoun? Or, in thceventcf no ti< k< I being 
put up for our cause, would they not divide between Jac! 
and Calhoun, the. larger part probably going to Jackson ? When 
do our friends contemplate bringing out the ticket which has 
been thought of for our side ? 

How long will you remain at St. Julien ? that is, when will 
you return to your official duties at Richmond ? 

If I am to judge of what I see and hear, and know, there is 
a general persuasion in the public mind of the insecurity and 
danger in the existing state of the general Administration. 
That there is too much cause for that persuasion, I sincerely be- 
lieve. The important inquiry is, what ought to be done — what 
can be done? As to myself, I am r i consent to any 

position that would rid the country from impending perils, if any 
disposal of myself could contribute to that most desirable i 
You are upon the judgment bench, and, perhaps, may there see 
more calmly than we can who are in the contending arena, 
what the good of our common country, in the present ci 
really demands from her true and devoted sons, among whom, 



334 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

whatever to the contrary others may profess to think or say, / 
know none to be more sincerely and zealously attached, than 
your faithful friend. 



K. S. BROWNING TO MR. CLAY. 

Rome, April 5, lS3i 

Sir, — In visiting the relics of ancient Rome, my attcntif/u 

was naturally called to the tomb of Cicero. It stands on the 
spot where that immortal orator was assassinated by some base 
creatures of Mark Antony, near his villa, at Mola. I could not 
contemplate the monument, whose solidity had defied the rava- 
ges of nearly two thousand years, or tread the consecrated sod, 
without feelings of excitement. His unrivaled eloquence, that 
was ever raised for the rights of man — his fearless defense of 
the Roman Republic — his eminence as a lawyer — the ability 
with which he presided over the Roman people — all hurried 
upon my memory in rapid succession. Nor did I forget that the 
enemies of Cicero were numerous. But they were the enemies 
of the Republic, and sought to destroy Roman liberty by blast- 
ing the character of its most able defender. But Cicero was 
virtuous, and the Roman people were not yet dazzled by the 
success of a military chieftain, and rewarded his virtue by their 
highest gift. How could these reflections cross my mind with- 
out recalling you to my recollection ? Your elocruence in de- 
fense of our Republic has been heard from the Mississippi to the 
Rhine. Your legal knowledge and abilities as a statesman, 
that give you the first rank in " the land of liberty," like Cicero's, 
have ever been directed to the good of the people. And you, 
too, have your enemies. May wisdom and virtue weaken their 
strength. May the Republicans of the United States prove to 
the world that they are not deluded by the success of a military 
chieftain, by rewaixlmg your virtue and talents with the first 
gift of the nation. May they show themselves superior to the 
Romans by never deserting the cause of liberty, and by confiding 
only in wist; and virtuous lovers of liberty. 

With these reflections, I cut a bough of an abavita, that shaded 
the tomb, and have had a cane made of it, which I forward you 
by the bearer of this note, and beg your acceptance of it. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 335 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOK!'.. 

W v HDIGTON, April 9, 1882. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor oi the 5th instant. I 
have some thoughts of running away from this place for a f< 
days, wearied and exhausted as I am by public business, and I 
have an inclination to go to St. Julien, if you will give me an 
asylum, and receive me incognito. If I go, it would be on 
Thursday or Friday. Will you he at home for four or five 
days? Will you receive me, and promise, upon your sacred 
honor, not to invite to your house any company in consequence 
of my enjoying the advantage of your protection ? Perhaps I 
may carry with me a friend. I shall he governed by your re- 
ply. Whatever that may be, I pray you always to consider mo 
faithfully your friend. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 17, 1832. 

My dear Sir, — I shall leave here on Thursday next, in the 
steamboat for Fredericksburg, and reach St. Julien, if I can, that 
evening. General Vance and Mr. Letcher will probably accom- 
pany me. Mrs. Clay thinks she had better remain here with 
our grandson, etc. 

Mr. McDuffie of the Dank Committee, has returned from 
Philadelphia, and the rest of the Committee arc expected this 
evening or to-morrow. It is understood that the Committee were 
not very harmonious, but it is not known what will be the char- 
acter of their report. 



FRANCIS BROOKE TO MR. CLAY. 

April 'j: 1 ., 18 

My dear Sir, — I was deeply affected by our last conversation 
on the subject of your health, and I conjure you to take care of 
it. I have some experience, and no little information from 
books, of the effect of diet, etc., upon the animal economy, and 
I am aware of the truth of the vulgar maxim, that " what is 
one man's meat, is another's poison." and therefore will not pre- 



336 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

tend to prescribe any specific course to you. It is perfectly true 
that if you will not permit your inclinations to control your 
judgment, ycu will better decide than the most experienced of 
the faculty, what diet is most conducive to your health ; but 
there are some general principles that we can not be mistaken 
in, and one is. that after high excitement from any cause, there 
is invariably a consquent debility, which will always increase ma- 
terially any predisposition to torpor, and even paralysis. High 
excitement, then, from any cause, ought to be avoided, and es- 
pecially from causes that always precede great debility. I think 
I can not warn you too strongly, against the excessive use of 
tobacco, in any form. As Milo learned to carry the ox by carry- 
ing the calf every day, the quantity of tobacco may be dimin- 
ished from day to day. This also may be said of wine ; but 
there is another cause of high excitement which is more per- 
nicious, and more difficult in your situation to be avoided, that 
which results from dwelling too much on the deplorable con- 
dition of our public affairs, and on the relation in which you are 
placed in regard to them. It is the more difficult for you to look 
on them in the calm lights of a mild philosophy, but yet you 
ought to be satisfied with performing your duty, and to leave 
the rest to others, and to that Providence which has heretofore 
watched over us. It is in vain to attempt to do more, and I 
shall be truly rejoiced when I find you less anxious, and, of 
course, less excited. There are times, when, as we have seen 
in history, patriotism made things that were bad, worse. I trust 
that we are not yet in that condition, but if that virtue is worth 
any thing, you ought to take care of your health : it is of great 
importance that you should. I hope I shall have a letter from 
you, giving me a better account of it than when you were here. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

Ashland, A i r i I 24> 1832. 
I wish to communicate the joyful intelligence that yon are 
grandfather by a new title. Heaven, as if jealous of our fond- 
ness for Anne, has attempted to divide it by a new object of af- 
fection, but it will only give rise to a new source of feeling. 
Yesterday, between 2 and 3 p. m., Anne gave life and light to a 
fine daughter. 



OF HENBY (LAY. 837 

We shall be happy to introduce you when you come, to the 
youthful stranger. Mary is to be her name, and hei aunt. Miss 
Mary Erwin, her godmother. 

I am now, for the first time for many y enjoyii 

pleasures and scenes of a youthful spring in Kentucky. It 
charming country, and Ashland and the Woodlands have a thou- 
sand interests ffcr me. I do not at all envy you your heated po- 
litical atmosphere at Washington. I much prefer the sen 
happiness which the perusal of the elegant Thompson infuses, 
while surrounded with the beauties which the season of bloom 
opens to the view. 

When may we expect you? My mother, I suppose, will not 
precede you. I hope to show her when she comes, that Ashland 
has not fallen into bad hands. A little severity, which I used in 
the fir t place, and a continued exertion of energy, have intro- 
duced a system and regularity into the concerns of the place, 
which were much wanting when I came. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, April 26, 1832. 

My dear Sir, — I have received your affectionate letter of the 
23d instant, and the interest which it manifests in my health and 
prosperity has affected me sensibly. Among the many circum- 
stances to disgust me with life and my fellow man, the warmth, 
fidelity, and duration of your friendship have ev< ' I a source 
of cheering satisfaction. You have described. I believe correct- 
ly, the true causes of my indisposition ; and your advice is full 
of wisdom. Naturally ardent, perhaps too ardent, I can not 
avoid being too much excited and provoked by the i • s of 
iversation, hypocrisy, degeneracy, and corruption which are 
daily exhibited. I would fly from them, and renounce forever 
public life, if I were not restrained by a sentiment of duty, 
and of attachment to my friends. I shall endeavor to profit by 
your kindness, and to avoid as much as possible, in future, all 
causes of irritation. I have quit the use of tobacco, in one of 
the two forms to which I had been accustomed, and will gradual- 
ly discontinue the other. I will also endeavor to moderate the 
interest excited by public affairs. 

Since my return I have felt, with the exception of one day, 



338 PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

better. I wish I could have remained longer with you. Should 
I not feel my strength and health returning. I will make another 
excursion to Maryland or Philadelphia. 

Nothing material has transpired here. Our friends are acquir- 
ing daily more confidence, and the Jackson party are greatly 

- 

alarmed. It was remarked to me this morning that they have 
become panic struck. 

A report is anticipated from a bare majority of the Bank Com- 
mittee, recommending further investigation to he prosecuted in 
the recess. There will probably be a counter report. 

Two reports may be expected from the Secretary of the 
Treasury, and the Committee of Manufactures, next week, on 
the Tariff, and presenting different plans of modification. 



AMBROSE SPENCER TO MR. CLAY. 

p Albaxt, April 28, 1832. 

Dear Sir, — 1 thank you for the copy of your report on the 
public lands, which you kindly sent me, and I avail myself of 
the occasion to trouble you with a letter. I have considered my- 
self unfortunate in never having had the pleasure of seeing you, 
or corresponding with you. When you were in power I had no 
favor to ask, although as far as my influence extended it was in 
favor of the last Administration. I admit that there were some 
passages in your public life which I disapproved ; but I am hap- 
py also to be able to say that explanations given to me at Wash- 
ington by honorable men, removed impressions of an unfavora- 
ble nature. The report you have sent me, and the general tenor 
of your public life, have indelibly impressed me that you are 
actuated, as a public man, by the purest principles and the stern- 
est integrity. 

You may think it strange that I should open a correspondence 
in this manner, but I consider it proper and necessary you should 
be informed by me of the undisguised state of my past and 
presenl feelings toward you. * 

Being myself thoroughly convinced that we are doomed to 
national degradation, and to the ruin of all our most valuable in- 
stitutions, it' General Jackson is re-elected, I will endeavor to do 
tny duty in averting these calamities. 



OF HENRY < LAV. 309 



CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL TO MB. CLAY. 

Richmond, May 7, 1832. 

Dear Sir, — On my return to this place, from a visit to my 
friends in our upper country, I had the pleasure of receiving 
your report on the public lands, which I have read with atten- 
tion. The subject is of immense interest, and has long produced 
and is still producing great excitement. 

My sentiments concur entirely with those contained in the re- 
port, which are so clearly and so well expressed that it must, I 
think, be approved by a great majority of Congress. Unanimity 
is not to be expected in any thing. 

1 thank you for this mark of attention, and am with great and 
respectful esteem your obedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, June 2, 1 S ". J . 

MLt dear Sir, — I did not answer your last, because I had some 
hopes of seeing you here, and because I wished to be able to 
communicate to you something about the proceedings of the 
N. R: Convention at Harrisburg. The inclosed letter from Mr. 
Sergeant (which i return after reading) will give you the 

latest informal i from that place. Other letters which I have 
received corroborate his dews. The progress of the work of 
co-operation between the Anti-Masons and N. R.'s in New York 
continues, and every day adds to our confidence that it will be 
secured, and that its result will be to deprive Jackson of the sup- 
port of that State. It is an affair, however, of much delicacy 
and of no little difficulty, from the f ism of some, and the 

perverseness of others, of the Anti-Masons. The letter which you 
procured Governor Barbour to write to Rose has had good effect, 
and if he could repeat the anodyne it would not be amiss. Ste- 
vens (the Anti-Masonic candidate for Lieutenant-Governor in 
New York) was here a few day. nd assured me that he 

was fully persuaded that we should succeed in New York. 
Lieutenant-Governor Pilcher (now a member of the Hous 
Representatives from that State, and elected as a Jackson man) 
said to me, last evening, that he had no doubt of our success 
there. 



r, ± v PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

We art going on with the Bank in the Senate, and, I pre- 
sume, Avill pass the hill on Monday or Tuesday. In the House 
of Representatives Mr. M'Duffie's Tariff bill had only about 
forty-four supporters. No time of adjournment yet spoken of. 
Mr. Hith, from Richmond, is here, and I am highly pleased 
with him. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, June 29, 1832. 

My dear Sir. — Pennsylvania continues daily to exhibit signs 
of the most cheering character, and there is just reason to hope 
that she is lost to General Jackson. 

A Tariff has passed the House of Representatives by a large 
majority. It will finally pass the Senate with or without modi- 
fications. It is a law which, with some alterations, will be a 
very good measure of protection. 

The Bank bill will, I think, pass the Senate in a few days ; 
and if Jackson is to be believed, he will veto it. 

Congress will adjourn on the 9th or 16th, most probably on 
the latter day. Afterward I believe I shall go to the White 
Sulphur Springs, but it may not be until the 1st of August that 
I shall reach there. I hope I shall find you there. 



A DAUGHTER OF MASSACHUSETTS TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, July -1, 1832. 

Sir, — I beg leave, through this medium, to offer you my sin- 
cere acknowledgment for your recent noble and spirited avowal 
of your belief of the Christian religion, and of your reverence for 
its precepts ; and I can assure you, sir, that a large majority of 
the daughters of the descendants of the Pilgrims unite with me 
in the same sentiment. 

Our prayers will be offered to Almighty God, and our influ- 
ence exerted with our friends, for your elevation to that office 
which is the first in the gift of the people of this Union ; and 
should our prayers be answered, may you prove " a terror to evil 
doers, and a praise to those who do well/' 



OF ETJENBY CLAY. 34] 

MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BBOOKE. 

Washington, July 20, 1S"2. 

My dear Sir, — I intend to take my departure from this city 
on Monday next (the 23d), and hope to reach St. Julien that 
evening. I design going from your house by Colonel William 
Boiling's, in Goochland, and thence via Charlottesville or Lynch- 
burg to the White Sulphur Springs. I do not think we can re- 
main longer with you than Tuesday, and I hope, on one account, 
my dear sir, you will not invite any company to St. Julien. 

Nothing new, or at least nothing that will not keep new until 
I have the pleasure to meet you. 



NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, August 1, 1832. 
My dear Sir, — You ask what is the effect of the veto ? My 
impression is, that it is working as well as the friends of the 
Bank and of the country could desire. I have always deplored 
making the Bank a party question, but since the President will 
have it so, he must pay the penalty of his own rashness. As to 
the veto message, I am delighted with it. It has all the fury of 
a chained panther, biting the bars of his cage. It is really a 
manifesto of anarchy, such as Marat or Robespierre might have 
issued to the mob of the Faubourg St. Antoine ; and my hope 
is, that it will contribute to relieve the country from the domin- 
ion of these miserable people. You are destined to be the in- 
strument of that deliverance, and at no period of your life has 
the country ever had a deeper stake in you. I wish you success, 
most cordially, because I believe the institutions of the Union 
are involved in it. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOK E. 

Winn: Sulfhi i. - net .", I v 

My dear Sir, — We reached here safely on Thursday last, 
and find a very great crowd. Two of your sons are here, and 
we saw the third at Staunton. They are all well. I feel much 
better already, and hope the water will completely eradicate the 
disease under which I was suffering at St Julien. 



342 PRIVATE CORPESPOXDEXCE 

I am informed, from Washington, that the President has re- 
solved to suspend the execution of the parts of the law passed 
at the last session, relating to internal improvements, to which 
he objects. What think you of this high-handed measure? 
What of his daring violation of the Constitution, in re-appointing 
Gwinn ? Is proud Virginia ready to bond her neck to these 
usurpations ? 

Speaking of your State, I do believe, with proper exertions, 
it might be carried against Jackson. The two parties exhibit, 
at this time, apathy and confidence on one side, and despondency 
on the other. If you would exchange for your despondency 
zeal and concert, I am half persuaded that you would triumph. 
Your strength is greater than you are aware of. The weakness 
of the other side is greater than is believed. Let our friends 
organize, throughout the State ; let each county be divided into 
sections, and let one or more members of your Committees of 
Vigilance be designated in each to bring the voters to the polls, 
and I incline to think that you would win the day. All this 
should be put in motion by some central committee. What 
would serve to animate our friends, and to dispirit our opponents, 
is the high probability of success, whatever may happen to be 
the vote of Virginia. 

We shall remain here until the 15th. Be pleased to make the 
respects of Mrs. Clay and myself to Mrs. Brooke and the young 
ladies, and believe me your affectionate friend. 



JAMES BROWX TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, September 3, 1S32. 
My dear Sir, — I have received, with feelings of the deepest 
sorrow, the intelligence of the decease of our lamented Mrs. 
Hart, conveyed by your letter. I had resided, for twelve months 
after my marriage, under her hospitable roof, during which tum\ 
and ever since, I received from her every proof of kindness and 
affection which could have been bestowed on me b] my own 
mother. Alas! how much, in many essential particulars, she re- 
sembled my dear Nancy, and how soon she has f 11 iwed her! 
I fondly trust that that beneficent Father of the Universe who 
has, during their lives, bestowed on them so many bli igs, has 
graciously re-united them in the regions of everlasting bliss. 



OF HENBT CLAT. 343 

JAMES BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, Novembers, 1832. 

Dear Sir, — I had the pleasure to receive, by the newspapers, 
the intelligence of Henry's marriage, and to learn by your last 
letter that his choice is every way agreeable to his family, and 
what is more important, such as to promise him future happi- 
ness. Be s<> kind as to accept my congratulations on the event, 
and to oiler to the newly married pair my sincere wishes that 
they may enjoy a long life of union and prosperity. 

The intelligence of your death was accompanied, perhaps pre- 
ceded, by its contradiction. I sincerely hope that you may feel 
no serious consequences from your indisposition, and that you 
may resume your seat in the Senate with a disposition to be 
satisfied with a place which I would have preferred to any with- 
in the reach of American ambition. You know that I have 
never for a moment doubted that General Jackson would be re- 
elected. He will have a large majority in this State, and I shall 
not be surprised should he be the choice of every State south of 
the Potomac, and west of the Alleghany. If I have proved 
more generally correct in my calculations than many of our act- 
ive politicians, it may be accounted for by the fact that I derive 
my information almost exclusively from my knowledge of the 
American tendencies, my acquaintance with nearly all the prom- 
inent actors in the political theater, and the perusal of the jour- 
nals, without entering into the busy scenes of active electioneer- 
ing, by which my deliberate judgment might be warped, or 
conversing with eloquent and heated partisans, who might in- 
flame my imagination. 



HENRY (LAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

• mbcr 2"7, 1832. 

My dear Fatheu, — In regard to myself I am now perfectly 
happy. I am united to a lady who possesses my entire love and 
veneration, and who returns me, in over-measure, the affection 
to which I am entitled. We are not rich, hut it will be a source 
of pleasurable occupation to become so. Like all j men of 

ambition and aspiring temperaments, the m | issibility ot ill 
success keeps alive in me a thousand unnecessary and annoying 
fears. But I hope ere long to become settled in life, and then I 
shall begin in good earnest to mold my future destinies. In the 



344 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

meantime, I shall devote my principal energies to the law, and 
shall endeavor to compose my mind to a state of profitable study. 

Whatever, my dear father, may have been my errors, I have 
always entertained for you the most unvarying filial attachment; 
and it shall always be my highest pleasure to endeavor to meet 
your wishes and commands. 

Julia desires me to express her love to you all in the most 
tender and affectionate terms. 



SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD TO MR. CLAY. 

Trenton, December 1, 1832. 

My dear Sir, — I should have written to you several days ago, 
but I feared that you would leave Lexington before my letter 
reached there. 

I am in deep distress at the situation of our country. I fear 
that the Union and Government are gone. Nothing can save 
them but a wisdom and patriotism which I almost despair of 
finding, in the present day of madness. I should despair, if I 
did not feel, that a citizen can commit no crime short of treason, 
worse than to despair of the Republic. 

The recent elections have greatly astonished me. Even in 
New Jersey, no one of any party, who was well informed, doubted 
a different result. We owe our defeat to two causes — The over- 
confidence of our friends, who feared no danger,, and the course 
of the Anti-Masons. We were assured that they would support 
our ticket, in preference to General Jackson's, until the last 
moment ; but the result shows that my early and constant f 
respecting them were well founded. They tried me — painfully. 

I am now myself in as unpleasant a condition as any man can 
well be. Forced into an annual office, to gratify my friends, 
and promote the success of the party — giving up a practice 
necessary for the comfort of myself and family, and destined, in 
all probabiliy, to be cast out in another year. But for myself I 
care little. I have never looked to popular favor for happiness, 
nor to office for support. I have always given more than I re- 
ceived when I have accepted public stations. 

There are many who wish me to change my position to the 
Senate, in place of Dickenson, under the belief that I can, in the 
present melancholy times, do more good to the country there 
than where I now am. Whether this will be the wish of the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 045 

joint meeting in January I know not. I tonic iliis office with no 
anticipations of good to myself. I felt it a sacrifice of myself to 
my country, and I am now content to remain in it ; and while I do, 
let the period be short or long, to do my duty, and my whole 
duty, fearlessly and fully, and meet, withoul flinching, all con- 
sequences. What shall I do? Of the future I anticipate not! i 
of good to the country, unless trials and calamities may open 
hlind eyes. What arc we to do with South Carolina ? Do tell 
me your plan — prophecy for me. I would write on that topic. T 
intended to do so when I began, but my time is out. Other 
duties call me. Let me hear from you, and fully. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

W \si!Ingto>t, December 12, 1832. 

My dear Sir, — On my arrival here, a few days ago, I found 
your favor of the 28th ultimo. Mrs. Clay did not accompany 
me, but remained at home, in consequence of the shortness of 
the session, and the apprehended bad state of the roads, both iu 
coming and returning. 

It is useless to dwell on the issue of the Presidential election, 
respecting which we were so greatly disappointed. From what- 
ever causes it proceeded, it is now irrevocable. 

You ask, what is to be done with nullification ? I must refer 
you to the President's proclamation. One short week produced 
the message and the proclamation — the former ultra on the side 
of State rights, the latter ultra on the side of consolidation. How 
they can he reconciled, I must leave to our Virginia friends. As 
to the proclamation, although there are good things in it, espe- 
cially what relates to the Judiciary, there are some entirely too 
ultra for me, and which I can not stomach. A proclamation 
ought to have been issued w • eks ago, but I think it should have 
been a very different paper from the present, which, I apprehend, 
will irritate instead of allaying any excited feeling. 

Congress has not yet been called upon, and I sincerely hope it 
may not be necessary to call upon it, in this unfortunate affair. 
How is the proclamation received at Richmond ? 

I shall leave here to-morrow, to accompany my fourth son as 
far as Philadelphia, on his way to New England. And. in great 
haste, I add assurances of my constant and cordial esteem. 



346 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENET CLAY. 



MRS. ERWIN TO HER FATHER, MR. CLAY. 

The Woodlands, December 13, 1832. 

My dear Father, — I suppose, by the time this reaches you, 
that you will have arrived safely at Washington. We heard 
from you at Wheeling, but not since ; you have been seeing new- 
faces and new things every day, while we have been going on 
in the same quiet routine — I will not say dull — that you left us 
in. The only change in our society is the arrival of Henry and 
Julia from Louisiana ; they came a week since, and are at Post- 
tcthwaites. They have been out frequently, and we all spent a 
very pleasant day yesterday with mamma, whom wo found in 
good health and spirits. Theodore went home the day after you 
left, and although mamma is now fully convinced that he is de- 
ranged, he has so far conducted himself quietly, and she is 
much happier than if he were any where else. 

Henry has recommenced the study of the law with increased 
energy. He is disgusted with the prospect of making a living 
at the bar in Kentucky, and as a last determination, which he 
does not intend to change, he is to go to New Orleans in Febru- 
ary, and at last open an office this winter, preparatory to com- 
mencing business next year. This I think a wise course, and I 
hope he will persevere in it. His health and spirits are better 
than when he left us. 

Nothing has occurred worth noticing in the family, except the 
very sudden death of Alfred Shelby, who fell in a fit of apo- 
plexy, and died a few hours afterward. Mrs. M. Harrison gave 
birth to a fine son on Saturday, who, I hope, will not prove, like 
his father, a good Jackson man. 

We are positively to leave on the loth, that is, day after 
to-morrow, and we have every prospect of a quick and pleasant 
passage, as the weather is fine, and both rivers in fine order. I 
leave the boys with mamma. I expect they will occasion me to 
return very early in the spring. 

Give my love to all those who may be so kind as to inquire 
for me, and particularly to James; do, my dear father, make 
him write me to New Oil [f you ran not find time to do so 

yourself. Mr. Denton begs to be respectfully remembered to 
you. Mr. Erwin and the children join me in love to you. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1833, '34, AND '35. 

MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 17, 18! 

My dear Sir, — I received your two last favors, and should 
have written to you hefore and oftener, but that I really have 
had nothing interesting to communicate. As to politics, we 
have no past, no future. After forty-four years of existence un- 
der the present Constitution, what single principle is fixed ? The 
Bank? No. Internal Improvements? No. The Tariff? No. 
Who is to interpret the Constitution ? We are as much afloat 
at sea as the day when the Constitution went into opera- 
tion. There is nothing certain hut that the will of Andrew 
Jackson is to govern ; and that will fluctuates with the change 
of every pen which gives expression to it. As to the Tariff, 
now pending before the House, whether it will pass or no in 
that body depends upon his command. 

I have been thinking of some settlement of that question, but 
I have not entirely matured any plan ; and if I had, I am not 
satisfied that it would be expedient to offer it. Any plan that I 
might offer would be instantly opposed, because I offered it. 
Sometimes I have thought that, considering how I have been 
and still am treated by both parties (the Tariff and the Anti- 
Tariff), I would leave them to fight it out as well as they can. 
The lingering hopes for my country prevail over these feelings 
of a just resentment, and myjudgro Us me, that disregard- 

ing them, I ought to the last to endeavor to do what I can to 
preserve its institutions and re-establish confidence and concord. 
I shall act in conformity with this judgment, but I am far from 
being sanguine that I have the power to effect any thing. 



348 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

You will have seen the late Message. It is able and elaborate, 
freer from passion than the proclamation, but not more compati- 
ble with the doctrines which prevail at Richmond. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 23, 1833. 

My dear Sir, — You mistake very much my feelings in sup- 
posing that the doubt which I sometimes entertained of making 
any effort to rescue the country from its present difficult situa- 
tion, proceeded from any spirit similar to that which actuated 
Coriolanus. That doubt sprang from the facts, that there was 
an organized party ready to denounce any proposition that I 
would make, because I made it ; and that the other party (the 
Anti-Tariff party) contained many individuals, in whose view the 
great interests and even the peace of the country, were subordi- 
nate to the success of the dominant party to which they belong, 
and to the success of the designated successor of the present 
chief magistrate. It is mortifying — inexpressibly disgusting — 
to find that considerations affecting an election now four years 
distant, influence the fate of great questions of immediate inte- 
rest more than all the reasons and arguments which intimately 
appertain to those questions. If, for example, the Tariff now 
before the House should be lost, its defeat will be owing to two 
causes — 1st, The apprehension of Mr. Van Buren's friends, that 
if it passes, Mr. Calhoun will rise again as the successful vindica- 
tor of Southern rights ; and 2d, Its passage might prevent the 
President from exercising certain vengeful passions which he 
wishes to gratify in South Carolina. And if it passes, its pas- 
sage may be attributed to the desire of those same friends of Mr. 
Van Buren to secure Southern votes. Whether it will pass or 
not, and if it does, what will be its fate in the Senate, remains 
altogether uncertain. 

You ask me in your last letter if Tyler is not a nullifier ? I 
understand him to be opposed both to nullification and the pro- 
ceedings of South Carolina. Will he be re-elected ? We feel 
here some solicitude on that point, being convinced, that under 
all circumstances, he would be far preferable to any person that 
could be sent. I hope, if you can say a proper word in his be- 
half, you will do so. 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 349 



REVERDY JOHNSON TO MR. CLAY. 

Baltimore, February 18, II S3. 

My dear Sir, — You will pardon mc, 1 am sure, for trespass- 
ing a moment upon your time, in thanking you for the effort 
you are making to quiet the unhappy and alarming dissentions 
of the country. Like yourself, decidedly friendly to the | 
tection of domestic industry, I am satisfied, and have been sat- 
isfied for some time, that nothing but a liberal spirit of compro- 
mise can save the system from almost immediate destruction. 
The incalculable mischief which, in a mere pecuniary point of 
view, this will bring upon us, is, of itself, alarming enough, but 
it is comparatively insignificant, when contrasted widi the strong 
probability, that it may cause a struggle vital to the Union itself. 
The plan which you have proposed, will, I think, if any plan 
can accomplish it, save the manufacturers for the time, and in its 
consequences (gradually brought about) open the eyes of our 
Southern brethren to the manifold benefits of the system which 
they have so violently opposed. I can not but believe, that a 
few years of quiet and sober reflection will satisfy them that their 
present hostility to the prevailing policy, is the merest crea- 
tion of prejudice that was ever known, and that their true inter- 
ests, like that of their Northern countrymen, is in protecting the 
nation and its industry, against foreign restrictions. God grant 
that your efforts may prove successful, and that we may again 
see our country not only, as it is, prosperous in fact, but happy 
and free in the estimation of every citizen of the Government. 

I repeat that I am satisfied you will take this communication 
in the spirit in which it is sent, and consider me as authorized 
to suppose that you will receive it in all kindness. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Senate Chamber, February 14, 1833. 

My dear Sir, — I had forborne to communicate to you the 
plan of accommodation which I intended to submit, because, 
although I had long since settled in my mind I he principle of 
the plan, I had not finally arranged the details. That work was 
only completed a few clays ago. You will see in the papers 
that I have presented it to the Senate in the shape of a bill. I 



350 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

was fully aware of all the personal consequences, and personal 
risks to which I exposed myself; but '-'what is a public man 
worth that will not sacrifice himself, if necessary, for the good 
of his country :" The measure has been well secured. Still 
every contrivance will be resorted to by the Van Burcn men, 
and by some of the Administration party, to prostrate or defeat 
the project. That, you know, I anticipated. What will be the 
final issue of the plan, I can not certainly say. I hope for suc- 
cess. We had a meeting this morning of the Committee — with 
the constitution of which I am satisfied — and things look as 
well there as I expected. Webster, and some other of the New 
England Senators, will oppose the plan. 



JOHN M. CLAYTON TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, February 20, 1833. 

My dear Friend, — Prepare yourself fully for the debate to- 
morrow. We shall hear a labored speech from our opponents. 

To-morrow will be the most eventful period of your eventful 
life. Your friends depend on your efforts, and I as one of them 
suggest to you this thought — consider whether it be not your 
best course to declare in your speech on the bill that you are no 
candidate for the honors of office — that you look- only to the 
imperishable glory of preventing civil war and again uniting 
your distracted countrymen in the bonds of fraternal affection, 
while at the same time you insure the continuation, the perpet- 
uity of that great system with which your fame is identified. I 
;k1\ ise this course at present. We have a yawning gulf in our 
Rome, and it will never close till some patriot rides into it. 
This will stop the cry of coalition, save yourself and your 
friends from calumny, and your country from ruin. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Chamber, February 23, 1S33. 

My dear Friend. — The compromise of the Tariff proposed 

by me is likely to be adopted with greal eclat. It has passed the 

House, and will pass the Senate by a large majority. It will be 

popular everywhere, even in the East. The Eastern vote in 



OF HENRY CLAY. 351 

the House has been given against it, rather from policy than f 
any dislike of the measure. Mr. Webster and [came in conflict, 
and f have the satisfaction to tell you that he gained nothing. 
My friends flatter me with my having completely triumphed. 
There is no permanent breach between ns. I think he begins 
already to repent his course. 

As to the publication of my letter, do as you please ; but I 
think it hardly merits it. 

I shall go to the North, or directly to the West, immediately 
after the close of the session. I regret that I can not have the 
pleasure of seeing you. Make my best respects to Mrs. Brooke. 



NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO 5m. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, February 28, 1803. 
My dear Sir, — I have a great deal to say, or rather to ask, 
it the manner in which you have been able to draw out the 
lightning from all the clouds which were lowering over the 
country ; but I will not trouble you now, and I only hope that 
you will come up when the session is over, and talk into con- 
viction all the doubters, even my friend Mr. \\ alsh himself. The 
fact is, that for forty-eight hours your friends held in their breath 
with anxiety, till they saw you fairly across the chasm, and are 
proportionally gratified at seeing you in such a firm and com- 
manding position. Of all this hereafter, when you come to see 
us. What makes me write now is, that I think you may find an 
opportunity on Saturday or Sunday of saying a few words which 
make a strong and favorable impression upon two large 
masses of the community whom [ wish to see well disposed to 
you, especially at the present moment. I mean the friends of 
the Bank and the Western States generally. 



3m. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOK E. 

Washington, March 11, 1833. 
My dear Sir, — At the date of your last you could not have 
received a letter which I had addressed to you at St. Julien. I 
shall leave here in a day or two, via Baltimore, Frederick, and 
Wheeling, for Kentucky. I have been detained by the Court 
I regret that I could not have seen you. 



352 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

You ask how amity was restored between Mr. Randolph and 
me ? There was no explanation, no intervention. Observing 
him in the Senate one night, feeble, and looking as if he was not 
long for this world, and being myself engaged in a work of 
peace, with corresponding feelings, I shook hands with him. 
The salutation was cordial on both sides. I afterward left a card 
at his lodgings, where, I understand, he has been confined by 
sickness. 

I heard to-day that Livingston is to go to France, Barry to 
Spain, and Stevenson to England ; and that M'Lane will be 
made Secretary of State, Woodbury of the Treasury, Forsythe 
of the Navy, and Colonel William Wilkins Post-master General. 
Caring nothing about these arrangements, I vouch for nothing. 

You may like to know that there is no breach between Web- 
ster and me. We had some friendly passes, and there the mat- 
ter ended. Since, we have occasionally met on friendly terms. 
I think (of course I do not know) that if he had to go over 
again the work of the last few weeks, he would have been for 
the compromise, which commands the approbation of a great 
majority. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

New Orleans, March 11, 1833. 
Dear Father, — This morning I stood my examination in open 
court before the Judge of the Supreme Court, and I intend imme- 
diately to commence* the practice. My visit to Mobile and my 
examination and license there were entirely unnecessary. I was 
admitted to an examination on the plea of residentship. I am 
fall of hope and energy, and loving the civil law as I do, I indulge 
a subdued confidence of ultimate success. At all events, I shall 
continue the trial for two seasons after the present. 



CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, March IS, 1S33. 
Dear Sir, — My nephew, Marshall Jones, purposes to remove 
to New Orleans with a view to the practice of the law, and is, 
I believe, now in that place. The circumstances under which 



o.\q 



OF IILXRY CLAY. 853 

ho left Virginia increase my solicitude for his success. A | 
sonal renconter with a young gentleman who had abused him 
wantonly and '_ r n / unfortunately in the d 

of his adversary. This compelled him to fly from Virginia 
from \ y flattering] ' 1 prospects. After visitii 

and Texa >. he has at length, I am told, determined on trying his 
fortune in New .1 am extremely desirous of proi 

his object, but with the exception of Mr. Johnston, am not ac- 
quainted with a single individual in that place. r I the 
favor of y< u to mention him to some of your friends, not as a 
person known to yourself, hut as my friend and relation whom I 
strongly recommend. I have the most entire confidence in his 
honor, integrity, and amiable qualities ; and shall feel myself 
greatly obliged by your bestowing on him so much of your coun- 
tenance as may favor his introduction into society, and his pro- 
fessional exertions. For the rest, he must depend upon himself. 
With great respect and esteem I am, dear sir, your obedient 
servant. 



MR. CLAY TO J. S. JOHNSTON - . 

-ton, March 15, 1833. 

Mr dear Sir, — You observe that your letter of the 13th 
found me here. I had, prior to its receipt, sent you a copy of my 
ich which is to be published by Gales & Seaton in the order 
of the debates. They have net published one word of the com- 
mendation of the bill, which has been put forth by other editors. 
To preserve an attitude of impartiality they, in cilect, make 
themselves partisans of those who oppose the measure. Do you 
think it necessary that I should revise the speech which I made 
on the introduction of the bill ? That which was pul I for 

me was done without my seeing it. 

I am very sorry that Sergeant and Binney <ii; approve the meas- 
ure, but I can not help it. I communicated it to them confiden- 
tially before I brought it forward, and they opposed no remon- 
strance. As for \ i ' ' ; but on ; Ld Mr. Webster ia 
his prophet. 

I i u sent on my letter to Lawrence which I inclosed to 

you. That part of the subject ought to be well understood 



among our friends. 



•_•:* 



354 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I have been detained here by the most violent cold I ever had ; 
but I hope to be off on Sunday at furthest, for the West. I can 
not go now to Philadelphia. I gained my cause, Minor against 
Tillotson. 



PELEG SPRAGUE TO MR. CLAY. 

Bostok, March 10, 1S33. 
Dear Sir, — It affords me the highest gratification to be able 
to assure you that public sentiment here has wonderfully changed 
in favor of your great measure, since its introduction. It is now 
popular, and becoming more and more so as it becomes better 
understood, as the real condition of the country and of the views 
and opinions of the Administration are more known, and as the 
bill itself and your course previous to its being offered in the 
Senate are explained. In New York I scarcely found an indi- 
vidual who did not approve it. In Providence and in Boston there 
is yet some diversity of opinion among the politicians, but so 
far as I learn none among the actual business men, engaged in 
manufactures. I have seen several of the principal and most in- 
telligent ; they are only apprehensive that it will not be perma- 
nent, that it will be again put afloat. They say that they do 
not think fit to come out publicly in favor of the measure, be- 
cause it might create uneasiness in the South, and generate a dis- 
position to make further demands, and because it would carry a 
censure upon their delegation in Congress. I have seen and 
conversed with many of the principal men, and was at first sur- 
prised that there was so much of error and misapprehension in 
nearly all in relation to the bill. I yesterday spent nearly an 
hour in conversation upon this subject with the Governor, most 
of the members of his Council being present, and I also have 
conversed with the Lieutenant-Governor, the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, several members of the Senate, and 
many members of the House, with Crowningshield and Dwight, 
formerly members of Congress, with both the Everett's, Presi- 
dent Q,uincy, the Lawrences, and many other merchants and 
manufacturers, whose names are unknown to you : and I can 
not doubt from their representations that the bill is now con- 
sidered a gr. d (no, and will be extremely popular when fully 
irstood. indeed 1 am entirely mistaken if, in six months, it 
be not considered in New England as the most wise, patriotic, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 355 

beneficent and splendid act of legislation that any individual in 
this country has ever achieved. It ought not to be matter of 
surprise thai some time is required to bring the public here to a 
correct understanding of the measure, for every member of their 
delegation, in whom they have justly so much confidence, voted 
against it. and some, in the early stages, united in a feeling of 
1 tility to it. The debate has not yet been published, which 
is very unfortunate, and the impressions of the nature of the bill 
have been received from the objections which are understood to 
have been made to it in the Senate. I have found the impres- 
sion almost universal that it relinquished the principle of protec- 
tion after 18 W. and not one have I seen here, as I recollect, who 
did not think that after that period the duties were to he equal 
on all articles, except such as the bill itself specified should be 
free. 1 have, ever since I arrived in New York, carried the bill 
in my pocket in order to convince them of this error, which has 
always been the first and prominent objection, and I have not 
met with one to whom I have had an opportunity to present the 
truth, who has not been satisfied, and wondered how they should 
have been so mistaken. I have made it a business, since my 
arrival lure, to put the matter right, and also to correct another 
erroneous impression which has been the source of much preju- 
dice from the beginning, and that is that your course was adopt- 
ed without consultation with your Tariff friends, and operated 
as a surprise upon them all. and particularly upon "Mr. W. I 
have taken the liberty, every when- and upon all occasions, to 
state the truth upon this point, which I know. I thought my- 
self not only at liberty, but bound, in justice to yourself, to make 
your course known, and have been delighted to find how re- 
lieved and rejoiced your friends here have invariably been to I 
the truth. I have net hesitated to state the conferences which 
were had, formal and informal, the propositions and suggestions 
which you submitted, and the remark's of Mr. \V. and others. 
Rely upon it the intelligent men here are getting to understand 
the subject ; it requires but a few persons to explain it, and it will 
be highly satisfactory and almost universally popular. I re 
deeply that the debate has not been published, while the public 
mind is awake and inquisitive in regard to it, es] i ciallj as all the 
members from this State were opposed to it in their votes, and 
of course are stopped from saying much in its favor. I shall re- 
main here several days longer, and shall see a great many more 



356 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of their intelligent and leading men, and I have no doubt all 
will be satisfied except a particular, and I trust very limited class 
of politicians, who wished to carry matters to extremities with 
South Carolina, and to see her put down, prostrated by force of 
arms, and with whom this feeling was paramount to any regard 
for the Tariff. 

Excuse me for writing so much, and so many repetitions, but 
the subject is one in which every horn's reflection and observa- 
tion increases my interest, and I have the strongest solicitude 
that every body should view this splendid and glorious act as I 
do, and appreciate and do justice to the mover, which I have no 
doubt they will. Your promised visit here is looked forward to 
with great eagerness. Your reception will be all that you can 
wish. You must not disappoint them, nor us in Maine. 

N. B. Since the passage of your bill there has been a ma- 
terial rise in the value and market price of almost all manufac- 
turing stocks, and of wool, and woolen goods, which is extend- 
ing now to cottons, and other articles. An infallible test of the 
real opinion of the interested. 



NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, .March 25, 1833. 
My dear Sir. — I duly received your last favor from Washing- 
ton, and did not fail to bear in mind its interesting contents. It 
confirmed an opinion previously formed, confirmed by subse- 
quent reflection, and since repeatedly declared, that it was of 
great importance to the country not to permit the difference of 
sentiment on the Tariff to produce any alienation between those 
who had hitherto acted in concert on all the other great public 
measures; and that more especially no estrangement should be 
allowed to grow up between the two most prominent leaders 
win) were opposed on that question. During the visit of our 
friend, I was in habits of constant and confidential intercourse 
with him. In regard to the men: 'ire itself, lie retains all the 
opinions which he publicly expressed ; but they are, I think, un- 
accompanied by any thing of an unkind or unfriendly feeling 
toward yourself, as you will perceive when the speech made on 
that occasion is published. There was a strong disposition 



OF HENRY CLAY. 357 

among many ofliis friends, to give him a public dinner; but this 
T discouraged, because I feared that it might oblige him to say 
more on that subject than it is prudent to express at the present 
time, and because it would probably furnish an oc i for his 

less discreet friends to do and to say tliii e :us ible nt a mo- 
ment of excitement, but which might afterward be regretted. 
For such an exhibition, I substituted a large meeting of gentle- 
men at my own house, where his friends could have the pleasure 
nt" seeing him, without imposing upon him the necessity of 
making any exposition of his views on any subject. I stated to 
him without reserve, the share which I had taken in preventing 
a public dinner, and my reasons for it, in the propriety of which 
he entirely acquiesced. In short, he has left us two days ago, 
in a frame of mind entirely satisfactory, and your mutual friends 
seem to understand each other perfectly, that there ought not to 
be, and that there shall not be, any alienation between you, how- 
ever you may have differed on one measure of policy. For my- 
self, I entertain for him so sincere an attachment, that I should 
have been greatly pained at a different result. These good dis- 
positions will, I doubt not, be strengthened during the visit 
which we meditate, to your country, in the course of the spring, 
since no one can be insensible to the attractions of personal in- 
tercourse with you. Few, I need not add, appreciate that pleas- 
ure more highly than yours, with great respect, etc. 



ABBOTT LAWRENCE TO 3m. CLAY. 

Boston-, March 26, Is:;: 1 .. 

My dear Sir, — I have great pleasure in acknowledging the 
receipt of your letter of the 13th hist.,' with your speech upon 
the Tariff Bill. 

Your letter gave me individually, inexpressible pleasure, as it 
has placed in my power the means of satisfying the minds of 
many prominent citizens among us, who had i the whole 

heme was brought forward without the knowledge of your 
friend.-. I ha\ ran the lett Lation where it i 

been required, to remove any prejudii ' it might Ik. . • .- 
isted, and I have a general response fro n ail. that they are en- 
tirely saii i". 1 with the purity of your motives, as well as your 
enlightened patriotism. The news] presses are now silent 



353 PIUVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

here upon the subject, and will remain so. I know the editors 
well, and have taken some pains to place the whole subject upon 
true ground. I had. as you know, strong objections to any con- 
cessions whatever ; yet T am now well satisfied with the course 
the whole subject took in Congress ; so are the people of this 
State, and of New England. Our interests have been greatly 
promoted by it, and it is hoped and believed that time will prove 
to us that it was the dictate of wisdom to have adopted the bill 
proposed by you, and carried by your influence. I do not think 
there is the least unkind feeling toward you, in New England, 
and I do not take, I think, too much upon myself, when I say 
you wero never more popular than at the present moment. I 
look for a great change in public sentiment upon the American 
system, before the end of nine years, or even five years. If 
the system of internal improvements could go on for a few years, 
with vigor, there is not a doubt upon my mind, that this Union 
would be bound by ties stronger than all the constitutions that 
human wisdom could, devise. A railroad from New England to 
Georgia, would do more to harmonize the feelings of the whole 
country, than any amendments that can be offered or adopted to 
the Constitution. It is intercourse we want, and what I desire. 
Your Land bill is a great favorite here, and receives the hearty 
support of all parties, with the exception of some few office- 
holders. I wrote you about the 10th inst., at Washington; 
when you write again, will you tell me whether it was received ? 
I have only to ask you now when we may expect to welcome 
you here. I am often asked the question, and should be glad to 
answer it. Our mutual friend, Mr. Sprague, remained, here four 
days, and made the most of his time in explaining the principles 
of your bill, and the motives that influenced you in bringing it 
forward. I have a letter which he sent me from Mr. Senator 
Johnson, which is read in connection with yours of the 13th. 



MR. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Montpelibr, April 2, 1S33. 

Dear Sir, — Accept my acknowledgments for the copy of your 
speech on the bill modifying the Tariff. I need not repeat what 
is said by all on the ability and advantages with which the sub- 
ject was handled. It has certainly had the effect of an anodyne 



OF HENRY CLAY. 359 

on the feverish excitement under which the public mind was 
laboring : and a relapse may happily not ensue. There is no 
certainty, however, that a surplus revenue will not revive the 
difficulty of adjusting an impost to the claims of the manufactur- 
ing and the feelings o£ the agricultural Slates. The effect of a 
reduction, including the protected articles, on the manufacturers 
is manifest ; and a discrimination in their favor will, besides the 
complaint of inequality, exhihit the protective ] rinciple, without 
disguise, to the protestors against its constitutionality. An al- 
leviation of the difficulty may, perhaps, be found in such an 
apportionment of the tax on the protected articles most consumed 
in the South, and on the unprotected most consumed in the 
North, as will equalize the burden between them, and limit the 
advantage of the latter to the benefits flowing from a location of 
the manufacturing establishments. 

"May there not be a more important alleviation in embryo — an 
assimilation of the employment of labor in the South to its em- 
ployment in the North ? A difference, and even a contrast, in 
that respect, is at the bottom of the discords which have pre- 
vailed, and would so continue, until the manufacturers of the 
North could, without a bounty, take the place of the foreign in 
supplying the South ; in which event, the source of discord 
would become a bond of interest, and the difference of pursuits 
more than equivalent to a similarity. In the mean time, an ad- 
vance toward the latter must have an alleviating tendency. And 
does not this advance present itself in the certainty that, unless 
agriculture can find new markets for its products, or new products 
for its markets, the rapid increase of slave labor, and the still 
more rapid increase of its fruits, must divert a large portion of 
it from the plow and the hoe to the loom and the workshop? 
When we can no longer convert our flour, tobacco, cotton, and 
rice, into a supply of our habitual wants from abroad, labor must 
be withdrawn from those articles, and made to supply them at 
home. 

It is painful to turn from anticipations of this sort to the pros- 
pect, opened by the torch of discord, bequeathed by the Conven- 
tion of South Carolina to its country, by the insidious exhibitions 
of a permanent incompatibility, and even hostility, of interests 
between the South and the North, and by the contagious zeal 
in vindicating and varnishing the doctrines of nullification and 
secession ; the tendency of all of which, whatever be the inten- 



300 PEIVATE CORBESPONDENCE 

tion, is to create a disgust with the Union, and then to open the 
way out of it. We must oppose to tins aspect of things confi- 
dence, that, as the gulf is approach i, the deluded will recoil 
from its horrors, and that the deluders, if net themselves suffi- 
itly startled, will he ahandoned and overwhelmed by their 
followers. 

we were disappointed of the expected visit last fall, from 
yourself I Irs. Clay, we hope the promise will not he forgotten 
when the next opportunity occurs. For the present, Mrs. Madi- 
son joins in cordial regards and all good wishes to you both. 



JOHN SIBLEY TO MB. CLAY. 

Natchitoches, May 22, 1S33. 
Dear Sir, — Illy fitted as my mind is to write a letter at this 
time, and painful as the task is, I must in grief tell you that J. 
S. Johnston, and his son William, were, last Sunday morning, 
on board the steam-boat Lioness, on their way to make me a 
visit, when, about thirty-five miles above Alexandria, in Red 
River, a large quantity of powder in the hold of the boat ex- 
ploded, and blew the boat to atoms. Fifteen or sixteen passen- 
gers were lost : among them our friend Johnston.* William 
was blown off a distance, much hurt, but not killed ; is, I hope, 
safe with his uncle, a few miles below where the disaster hap- 
pened. His wife, my poor child, was left in bad health, in 
Philadelphia. I can now only commend her to a merciful God, 
and implore your condolence to her. I will write you more 
particularly when I can. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, May SO, 1833. 
My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor. I should have 
written to you before, but in this remote quarter we have rarely 
any thing interesting to communicate. Since my return from 
V. ' gton, I have been principally occupied with the o L 
lions of my farm, which have more and more interest for me. 

* The lion. .1. S. Johnston, United States Senator, and correspondent of Mr 
Clay. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 361 

There is a great difference, I think, between a farm cmplo 
in raising dead produce for market, and one which is applied, as 
mine is, to the rearing of all kinds of live stock. I have the 
Maltese ass, the Lrabian h . the merino and Saxe merino 
sh ep, the E li h Hereford and Durham cattle, the goat, tllo 
mule, and the hog. The progress of these animals from their 
infancy to maturity, presents a constantly-varying subject of 
interest, and I never go out of my house, without meeting with 
some of them to engage agreeably my attention. Then, our 
fine green sward, our natural parks, our beautiful undulating 
country, every where exhibiting combinations of grass and trees, 
or luxuriant crops, all conspire to render home delightful. Not- 
withstanding, I shall leave it early in July, to make a journey 
which I have long desired to perform. I shall go through Ohio 
to Lake Erie, thence to Buffalo, Niagara, Montreal, Quebec, Sar- 
atoga, and toward September, to Boston, where I have a young 
son of sixteen. The papers have attributed to me an intention 
of visiting New England, as if it were the principal object of 
my exc It is the least important one, and I should not 

go there but for the sake of my son. I intend traveling with 
as much privacy as practicable, and absolutely to decline every 
species of public entertainment. I wished to have been accom- 
panied by Mrs. Clay, and my son, and son-in-law, with tl i 
respective wives ; but neither of the young ladies arc in a travel- 
ing condition, and my wife hesitates about going without either 
of them. 

You perceive that the journey I have sketched will not ad- 
mit of my having the pleasure of meeting you at the White 
Sulphur Springs. I visit no place in the summer with more 
gratification than that finest of all, our mineral springs; but I 
have never seen the Falls of Niagara, and mil I avail myself 
of this summer to go there, I shall probably never have another 
opportunity. 

I have not decided whether I shall return to the Senate or 
not. If the Land bill had passed, I certainly should not have 
gone there again ; and the condition in which that measure has 
been left, creates the only doubt which I feel. But have 
I not done all that was incHmbent on me? Twice In. 
pressed the bill in the Senate, where it has twice passed, and 
once in the House. I regret most deeply that the South, 
hitherto, has opposed that measure. They will regret it some 



362 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

day, if it fails ; for the public lands will be lost to the country, 
without some such measure is adopted. They will be used as 
an instrument to advance the ambitious views of some Presiden- 
tial aspirant, by offering motives to the new States to support 
him. Already they are attempted to be applied to that object ; 
for how otherwise can you account for the opposition of Mr. Van 
Buren's friends, in New York, to the Land bill, and thus separ- 
ating themselves from the rest of the North, and evidently 
arraying themselves against the interest of their own State ? 

You tell me that Messrs. Leigh, etc., speak of me as a candi- 
date for the next Presidency, and even think of having my name 
forthwith announced. I am greatly obliged by their favorable 
opinion ; but I really feel no disposition to enter again on an ar- 
duous and doubtful struggle for any office. I have seen no evi- 
dence of any favorable changes in respect to me, that are of an 
extent sufficient to justify the opinion, that a result of a new 
contest would take place different from former experiments. 
Nothing is so abhorrent to my feelings as to be placed in a posi- 
tion in which I should appear as a teasing suppliant for office. 
That of President is full of care and vexation. One borne to it 
by the willing suffrages of a large majority of his countrymen, 
may get along well enough in it ; but if it is to be obtained in 
a hard contest, by a bare majority, or by a decision of the House 
of Representatives, between several candidates, no one having 
a majority, it has no charms, at least none for me. I doubt very 
much whether any successful opposition can be made against 
General Jackson's designated successor. The press, patronage, 
and party, will probably carry him triumphantly through. I have 
borne the taunts of the Jackson party and principles long enough. 
The country has not thought proper to sustain my exertions. 
Distinguished men, who could not possibly have viewed things 
differently from me, have stood by with a cold indifference, 
without Lending any helping hand. What can one man do 
alone against a host ? 

If I am asked what I think of the present state of things, 
and of the future, upon the supposition of success on the part of 
the candidate referred to? I answer, Bad enough, bad enough, 
God knows. But what can I do ? Have I heretofore ever 
ceased to warn the country against it ? Worn out and exhausted 
in the servie*-, why should I continue to sound the alarm, with 
no prospect of my being more heeded hereafter than heretofore ? 



OF TIKN11V CLAY. 363 

I want repose. I have readied a time of life when all men 
want it. I shall not neglect the duties which helong to one 
who has aimed to be a good citizen, and a patriot, even in retire- 
ment ; but the country had better try other sentinels, not more 
devoted or zealous, but who may be more successful than I 
have been. 

Such, my dear sir, is the true state of my feelings. Your 
partiality and friendly wishes about me, may not — your un- 
biased judgment must — approve them. 

Mrs. Clay unites with me in warm regards to Mrs. Brooke. 
For yourself, I need not repeat the assurance of my cordial es- 
teem and friendship. 



J. W. P. TO MR. CLAY. 

Petersburg, May 31, 1833. 

Respected Sir, — The last speech which John Randolph, of 
Roanoke, ever delivered, was at the late Jockey Club dinner of 
our Newmarket races, to a party of about two hundred gentle- 
men. Inter alios, he alluded to yourself, somewhat thus : "I 
admire and respect such men (the old Federalists) far more than 
such Republicans as the Janus-faced editor of ' The Richmond 
Enquirer,' who has contrived to keep in with every Administra- 
tion, save the short reign of John Adams the Second, and then 
he kept an anchor out to windward for Henry Clay, who, by 
the way, gentlemen, is a much better man than Ritchie. Clay 
is a brave man — he is a consistent man, which Ritchie is not ; 
an independent man, and an honest man, which Ritchie is not." 

These remarks were responded to by the company with rap- 
turous applause, and I now communicate them to you (privately 
and incognito), because I like to impart pleasure to a generous 
mind, and it must be some gratification to you to hear that these 
were the last public declarations of one of your most envenomed 
and distinguished political enemies, and that they were uttered 
and applauded in a part of our country which has been, hither- 
to, most decided in its opposition to you. 



364: PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Montpeltkh, June, 1833. 

Dear Sir, — Your letter, of May 28th was duly received. In 
it you ask my opinion on the retention of the Land bill by the 
President. 

It is obvious that the Constitution meant to allow the Presi- 
dent an adequate time to consider the bills, etc., presented to 
him, and to make his objections to them ; and on the other 
hand, that Congress should have time to consider and overrule 
the objections. A disregard, on either side, of what it owes to 
the other, must be an abuse, for which it would be responsible 
under the forms of the Constitution. An abuse on the part of 
the President, with a view sufficiently manifest, in a case of suf- 
ficient magnitude to deprive Congress of the opportunity of over- 
ruling objections to their bills, might, doubtless, be a ground for 
impeachment. But nothing short of the signature of the Presi- 
dent, or a lapse of ten days without a return of his objections, 
or an overruling of the objections by two thirds of each House 
of Congress, can give legal validity to a bill. In order to quali- 
fy (in the French sense of the term) the retention of the Land 
bill by the President, the first inquiry is, Whether a sufficient 
time was allowed him to decide on its merits? The next, 
Whether, with a sufficient time to prepare his objections, he 
unnecessarily put it out of the power of Congress to decide on 
them ? How far an anticipated passage of the bill ought to enter 
into the sufficiency of the time for Executive deliberations, is 
another point for consideration. A minor one may be, whether 
a silent retention, or an assignment to Congress of the reasons 
for it, be the mode most suitable to such occasions. 

I hope, with you, that the compromising Tariff will have a 
course and effect avoiding a renewal of the contest between the 
South and the North, and that a lapse of nine or ten years will 
enable the manufacturers to swim without the bladders which 
have supported them. Many considerations favor such a pros- 
pect. They will be saved, in future, much of the expense in 
fixtures, which they had to encounter, and. in many instances, 
unnecessarily incurred. They will be continually improving in 
the management of their business. They will not fail to im- 
prove, occasionally, on the machinery abroad. The reduction 
of duties on imported articles consumed by them will be equiva- 



OF HENET CLAY. 365 

lent to a direct bounty. There will probably be an in- 
cheapness of food from the increasing redundancy of agricul- 
tural labor. There will, within i ital period, be an 
addition of four or Jive millions to our population, no part, or 
little, of which will be needed for agricultural labor, and wl 
will, consequently, be an extensive fund of manufacturing re- 
cruits. The current experience m il probable, that not 
than fifty or sixty thousand, or more, of emij il . will annually 
each the United States, a large portion of whom will have been 
trained to manufactures, and he ready for that employment. 

With respect to Virginia, it is quite probable, from the prog- 
ress already made in the Western culture of tobacco, and the 
rapid exhaustion of her virgin soil, in which alone it can be cul- 
tivated with a chance of profit, that of the forty or fifty thou- 
sand laborers on tobacco the greater part will be released from 
the employment, and be applicable to that of manufactures. It 
is well known that the farming system requires much fewer 
hands than tobacco fields. 

It is painful to observe the unceasing efforts to alarm the South 
by imputations against the North of unconstitutional designs on 
the subject of the slaves. You are right, I have do doubt, in 
believing that no such intermeddling disposition exists in the 
body of our northern brethren. Their good faith is sufficiently 
guaranteed by the interest they have, as merchants, as ship-own- 
ers, and as manufacturers, in preserving a union with the slave- 
holding States. On the other hand, what madness in the South 
to look for greater safety in disunion ! It would be worse than 
jumping out of the frying-pan into the fire. It would be jump- 
ing into the fire from a fear of the frying-pan. The danger 
from the alarm is, that the pride and resentment excited by them 
may be an overmatch for the dictates of prudence, and favor the 
project of a Southern Convention insidiously revived, as promis- 
ing by its counsels the best securities against grievances of every 
sort from the North. 

The case of the Tariff and Land bills can not fail of an influ- 
ence on the question of your return to the next session of Con- 
gress. They are both closely connected with the public repose. 



366 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Columbus, June 10, 1833. 

My dear Sir, — I have at length reached this point, after hav- 
ing been greatly delayed by the state of the roads, produced by 
excessive rains. Such are the accounts here of the state of 
health, in the towns and near the rivers, and to the southward 
of it, that my future movements, and the extent to which I may 
prosecute my journey, have become uncertain. The season, too, 
seems now rapidly advancing into hot weather. I have thought 
it due to your kindness and proffered hospitality to make this 
suggestion, lest you should stay at Lexington, in expectation of 
my being there, after the time when it would be agreeable to 
you, under existing circumstances, to leave home. I pray you 
not to stay a day for me, since it is so uncertain whether I shall 
get to Lexington. 

I have heard only to-day the dreadful account about poor 
Johnston. It is inexpressibly shocking. 



DANIEL WEBSTER TO MR. CLAY. 

CiiiLLicoTnE, June 22d, 1S33. 

My dear Sir, — Your kind letter of the 17th was put into my 
hands at Cincinnati, on the morning of the 20th, just as I was 
getting into the carriage on my departure for this place. With 
whatever reluctance, and it was certainly very great, I found it 
unavoidable that I should give up the Kentucky portion of my 
journey ; since, even though I felt no fear about personal safety, 
I should yet find those whom I wished to see either in alarm or 
in affliction. Now that the scourge has departed, as I hope, 
from your immediate neighborhood, and although Providence 
has kindly protected your own roof, yet I can well conceive that 
you must have lost valued friends, and that so terrible a visitation 
has left a shock which must continue to be felt for some time. . 

It is my purpose to proceed immediately to Pittsburg, and 
thence by the shortest route to New York and New England. 
I find .Mr. Ewing here, as well as General M. Arthur and 
other friends. He expresses great pleasure at the escape of your 
family from the calamity. There is no sickness here, though a 
case of cholera is reported as having occurred at Portsmouth. 

r 



OF HENRY CLAY. 367 

I sincerely hope you will not give up your intended visit to 
the North. All along the country there is a very general expect- 
ation of seeing you, and the disappointment will not he small, 
should you not come. 

I beg you to make my host regards to Mrs. Clay, and say to 
her, that I will venture to give her my word that if she will 
visit the North, she will find her tour pleasant and agreeahlc, and 
her welcome every where hearty. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Asb&and, August 2, 1833. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 20th ultimo, 
and take great pleasure in transmitting an account of the remedy 
most successfully applied in the treatment of the cholera in Lex- 
ington. I send you herewith a number of the '• Western Jour- 
nal," which contains an article bringing into review almost all 
that has been written on the subject of the scourge. The de- 
scription and treatment of the disease by Mr. J. Kennedy (the 
first work reviewed) resemble most the appearance of it here, 
and accord best with the most approved practice. 

From all that I saw and heard about it here, I have drawn 
the conclusions : 

1. That certain reliance can be placed upon no remedy after 
the disease has reached the state of collapse and cramps. 

2. That, prior to that state, no sure reliance can be placed on 
any treatment which does not embrace the use of calomel in 
moderate doses. 

3. That if the disease commences, as it generally docs, by a 
complaint in the bowels, calomel in doses of from five to twenty- 
five grains, taken every hour, or two, until the discharge from 
tire bowels is checked, may be relied upon with a high degree 
of certainty. 

If there be considerable discharge from the bowels, opium, 
in the proportion of one grain to every two of calomel, or fifteen 
or twenty grains of laudanum, were advantageously given with 
calomel. 

The use of emetics and bleeding was much controverted. I 
believe them both good, in certain cases, and they were both 



368 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

occasionally resorted to with benefit; though I think neither in- 
dispensable. In the early stages of the disease only, and when 
it has not assumed what Mr. Kennedy calls the rapid type, would 
it be advisable to employ the emetic ? Ipecac, salt, and mustard, 
and warm salt and water, were all used. We had among our 
slaves a number of cases of violent pain in the abdomen, which 
we feared might terminate in cholera. In most of them we 
administered salt and mustard in equal proportions, about a table- 
spconful of each forming a dose, which was, however, repeated 
until vomiting ensued, and, after the operation, twenty grains of 
calomel, combined with twenty grains of rhubarb. All of them 
were relieved. The same remedy, with the same success, was 
employed at Mr. Erwin's, and at a bagging factory in the city. 

The attack made upon Mr. Dudley's practice was in conse- 
quence of his use of the emetic ; and, I think, was unfounded. 

Some of our physicians employed enormous doses of calomel, 
but I believe with no advantage. 

I send you a letter I received from Dr. M'Nairy, containing 
an account of his practice, which, as I understand, was very suc- 
■ cessful. 

Most sincerely do I hope that you may not have occasion for 
any application whatever to this terrible disease. It still rages 
with great violence in some parts of our State. 

You seem to think that I despond as to our public affairs. If 
you mean that I have less confidence than I formerly entertained 
in the virtue and intelligence of the people, and in the stability 
of our institutions, I regret to be obliged to own it. Are we not 
governed now, and have we not been for some time past, pretty 
much by the will of one man ? And do not large masses of the 
people, perhaps a majority, seem disposed to follow him when- 
ever he leads, through all his inconsistencies ? He docs not, it 
is true, always govern positively, by enforcing the measures 
which he prefers; but he prevents those, although adopted by 
the representatives of the people, to which he is opposed : and 
although manifestly for their good, they acquiesce in and applaud 
what, ver he does, and take sides with him against the. legislative 
authority. It" that single man were an enlightened phil< s >pher', 
and a true patriot, the popular sanction which i- to all his 

acts, however inconsistent or extravagant, might find some jus- 
tification. But when we consider that he is ignorant, passionate, 
hypocritical, corrupt, and easily swayed by the base men who 



OF HENRY CLAY. 869 

surround him, what can we think of the popular approbation 
which he receives ? 

One thing only was wanted to complete the public degrada- 
tion, and that was, that he should name his success This he 
has done, and there is much reason to believe that the people 
will ratify the nomination. Although that successor may be 
now, in some places, unpopular, when we reflect that the whole 
patronage of the Government will be directed for three years to 

ire his success ; and that a system of organization exists, in 
tin' largest State of the Union, wielding about one seventh of the 
whole electoral vote, the probability of his final success must be 
admitted to be great. To these chances we have to add others. 
In the South, it is now pretty evident that you arc about to re- 
enact the scenes of 1S24, when, under a romantic notion of ad- 
hering to your candidate, you threw away your votes upon Mr. 
Crawford, a paralytic, although it was perfectly notorious that he 
stood no earthly chance of being elected. Now, under the er- 
roneous idea that other parts of the Union contemplate an attack 
upon your slave property, and with the purpose of adhering to 
what are called your principles, Mr. Calhoun, or somebody else, 
will be brought out, and a great effort will be made to rally the 
South in his support. The contest will be between him and 
Mr. Van Buren. The latter, aided by the dominant party in 
Virginia, may secure that State. But it will so turn out that, 
whatever votes the Southern candidate may get, will serve Mr. 
Van Buren almost as effectually as if given directly for himself; 
because they will be so many abstracted from some other for- 
midable competitor. Thus, by the operation of the instruments 
now in full employment to secure his election, and by the di- 
visions of those opposed to him, he will obtain the majority, or 
enter the House of Representatives with a resistless popularity. 

His election once secured, the corrupt means of preserving and 
perpetuating power, now in successful operation at Albany, will 
be transferred to Washington. And there we shall have a state 
of things which will prepare the public mind for a dissolution 
of the Union, to which, unfortunately, there is less aversion now 
than could be wished by those who love th< ir country. 

I hope I maybe deceived in these predicti >ns : but I fear that 
I will not. Believing in them, you can not be surprised that, at 
the age of fifty-six, and after the struggles which I have made 
to maintain the public liberty, and to avoid the evils which now 

24 



370 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

menace us — struggles, I repeat, in which I have been too little 
sustained — I should think seriously of a final retirement from the 
theater of public life. 

My daughter* was happy to find herself in your friendly re- 
collection, and desires me to assure you of her cordially recip- 
rocating your esteem. She* is very happy, possessed of the 
lions of her husband, residing upon a beautiful place adjoin- 
ing mine, and enjoying affluence and every blessing. 

Mrs. Clay desires to be kindly remembered to Mrs. B. and 
yourself, and I remain always your sincere friend. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, October 22, 1833. 
My dear Sir, — I had long indulged a most gratifying antici- 
pation, that upon any visit you might make to this city, I should 
be among the foremost to receive you with a cordial welcome, 
and to promote among my fellow-citizens those public demon- 
strations of respect, to which your claims, to say the least, are, 
in my opinion, equal to those of any man in our country. My 
family also would have been too happy in uniting with me in 
every effort in our power to contribute toward making the stay 
of yours among us agreeable and convenient. The chagrin, 
therefore, which I should feel in a disappointment which forbids 
the accomplishment of these purposes, would be mortifying and 
deep, if arising from any human source. But we are under an 
affliction which comes from above, and precludes all emotions but 
those of anxiety and sorrow, and dispenses from all duties but 
those of resignation and obedience. My youngest son, the de- 
light of our eyes and our lives, is suddenly arrested by disease, 
in the bloom and vigor of youth, and is, as his physicians fear, 
on his dying bed. This trouble is too serious to be mentioned 
as a ceremonious apology ; but I could not, without a sense of 
self disparagement, permit you to remain a visitor in my native 
city, under an impression that any ordinary cause would prevent 
me from showing you, by all that depends on me. the sense 
which I think every man who loves his country should enter- 
Mrs. Erwin, ih.- much-loved child, and most worthy of it. Wo have Iieard 
Mr. Clay Bpeak -■!' her, many years after her decease, with the most tender emo- 
tion, lie delighted to dwell on her character with a sympathizing friend. 



OF EEKRY GLAT. 371 

tertain of the claims of a patriot, who has always carried his 
principles in front, and is ignorant of all political disguise, ea 
that which he has seen worn by i and whose public serv- 
ices have been, and. T trust, yet will be, of inappreciable value 
to his country. If lean trust myself to ; • with decent 

firmness and composure, for ten minutes, I shall steal them, to 
yon by the hand. If I do not, accept from a full heart the 
wish that God Almighty may secure yon and yours in his holy 
keeping. 

I pray you not to think of replying to this. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

\te Chamber, December 11, 1S33. 

My dear Sir, — I have delayed acknowledging the receipt of 
your favor, in consequence of an uncertainty whether my an- 
swer should he addressed you at St. Julien or at Richmond, and 
I am yet at a loss which direction to give it. 

My journey was full of gratification. In spite of my con- 
stant protestations that it was undertaken with objects of a pri- 
vate nature exclusively, and my uniformly declining public 
dinners, the people every where, and at most places, without 
discrimination of parties, took possession of me, and gave enthu- 
siastic demonstrations of respect, attachment and confidence. 
In looking back on the scenes through which I passed, they 
seem to me to have resembled those of enchantment more than 
of real life. 

From indications which have been as yet given, it would 
seem that the session opens with a majority in the House for the 
Administration, and a majority in the Senate against it. We 
passed a pretty strong measure yesterday, resuming the appoint- 
ment of committees by the Senate itself. On that vote, parties 
stand twenty-two to eighteen. We hope to reverse the majority 
in the House, and to strengthen it in the Senate, if we have no 
desertions. 

Are you in habits of intimacy with Floyd ? If yon are. you 
may ask him to show you a long letter I have recently addressed 
to him, in answer to a long letter I had received from him on 
public affairs. 

Airs. Clay joins me in respects to Mrs. Brooke. 



372 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



AMBROSE SPENCER TO MR. CLAY. 

Albany, December 14, 1833. 
Dear Sir, — Knowing that your time is wholly taken up in 
the arduous duties before you. I have hesitated to divert your at- 
tention a moment by any thing I can suggest ; but I am not willing 
that an acquaintance which gave me unspeakable pleasure, should 
be suffered to fade away. If you have not leisure to answer my 
letters I assure you that your silence will give me no offense. 
You can hardly conceive what favorable impressions your short 
visit among us created. Those who were prepared to love and ad- 
mire you, were confirmed in all their anticipations, and they admire 
and love you with the more intensity ; and even those who have 
been in the habit of thinking and speaking unkindly of you, 
were generally compelled to think better of you. I revert to the 
few happy hours I spent in your company with renewed delight. 
You may say this is flattery ; but if you understood my charac- 
ter, this is a vice never imputed to me by friend or foe, but 
enough of this. 

I am aware that it is quite premature to think or speak of the 
next Presidential candidate, but it seems that, nolens volens, the 
press will talk of it, and consequently the public will think of it. 
In my opinion the national Republicans ought to keep themselves 
wholly uncommitted, unless a great change should take place in 
the public mind, and the prejudices of party be greatly abated, 
the annunciation of any one of our distinguished friends would 
have the effect to unite the whole Jackson phalanx on some one 
of their leaders, and I think Mr. Van Bnren would probably be 
that man. From present appearances the contest on the part of 
our adversaries will be between Van Buren, Judge M-Lean, and 
Mr. Cass. I had no opportunity to obtain your opinions of the 
two latter, but I confess I feel strong repugnance to both of 
them. The question is not whether they are as unprincipled as 
Jackson, for I console myself with the belief that we, under no 
circumstances, can elect a worse, or more incompetent man. If 
we are driven to a choice between the three, which of them 
will be the least mischievous? M'Lean's judicial course has 
been Jesuitical and trimming, and it will be a strong objection 
to him that he enters the arena with the robes of office on. As 
to Cass, I once thought well of him ; but did he not write an 



OF HENRY CLAY. 373 

article in the " North American B r " expressly to propitiate 

the favor of Jackson, chiming in with his crude notions that Geor- 
gia had a right to abrogate the laws, etc. of the CI es and 
subject them to their jurisdiction ? This was in July, 1830. Did 
he not write an essay for " The Globe" reviewing Judge Marshall's 
opinions in the case of the Missourians, to prepare the public 
mind for the President's refusal to obey and carry into effect the 
mandate of the court ? Is he not the one of the Cabinet who 
gave an oral opinion against removing the deposits, but saying 
if they were removed he would stand by the President? If ho 
has done all or any of these things, he is a fit instrument for a 
tyrant, and I despise him. Can you enlighten me on any of these 
matters at a leisure moment ? 

I feel as I did when I saw you, most desponding at the pros- 
pect before us, and yet were I called to act, I would, if possible, 
nerve myself for the contest and fight the battle on the last inch 
of ground left. 

Excuse, I pray you, my want of method. I write on just as I 
feel. We are all well. Present my respects to Mrs. Clay and 
say to her, Mrs. Spencer presents her respects and will long re- 
member her with affection. 

P. S. Mrs. De Witt Clinton told me she regretted very much 
you did not call on her. She has not one remaining prejudice 
against you, and her husband's were conceived in error, and 
were, I doubt not, produced by misrepresentation. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

M kPLEWOOD, December 14, 1833. 

My dear Father, — I must now write you upon a very pain- 
ful subject. Anne, Mr. Erwin, and the rest of the family, with 
the exception of myself, determined, from the great and apparent 
increase of Theodore's malady, and from the positive risk and 
danger of his going at large, that he'ought to be again placed 
in the Hospital in this place. The Coiinn s have taken 

him once more under their protection. They applied to me to 
know if I consented to it. I told them tint I should ha\ 
ing to do in the matter, but that as one nearly related, hut with- 
out any authority or desire to act, I had no objection. When 



374 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

he was placed in the Hospital I was applied to as his brother, 
the nearest relation present, to advance $50 for his board, and to 
give my bond for $500. I advanced the money promptly, and 
hav^ expressed my willingness to give my bond. This is my 
part in the affair. I am not the mover in the business, nor, I 
may say, a participant, for Anne selected her course without 
consulting with me. She placed him where he is. But now 
let me say. my dear father, without I beseech your having my 
motives impugned, that Anne has done right. Theodore endan- 
gered the lives of all in the house with him. He was worse 
than he ever had been. But he is now doing better. To look 
at him was enough to melt the heart. His health wasting away, 
his face pale and emaciated. The day exhausted in forming 
suspicions of plots and conspiracies, the night in ceaseless and 
terrible alarms. Let me say, with a full knowledge of what I 
owe to you and to my mother, that we should allow the best 
physicians to operate with this most subtle and distressing disor- 
der. When he was in the Hospital before, his health was re- 
established and his mind certainly improved. Let us then curb 
our feelings and not destroy our brother and our child by mis- 
timed affection. If the malady is a great affliction to us all, and 
the most awful calamity to which a human being is subject, then 
let the remedies be applied with proportionate care. Let the 
wisest men and the most skillful in cures take our patient under 
their . charge. I have every hope, and others entertain hope 
also that Theodore will be eventually cured, if left in the Hos- 
pital. His disorder, from being confined to a few subjects has, 
I think, become more general, and 1 hope unsettled. At all 
events we ought never to resign hope ; and the experience of 
mankind informs us that the living and discipline of a Hospital 
are the best remedies for the disease. Is the discipline, even 
when the worst, as painful as the amputation of a limb, and 
shall we do less to preserve our mind than our body ? But you 
know the truth of what I write and my mother too will adopt 
it, I hope; for I think if she will reflect upon Theodore's case, 
she will recognize the exact coincidence with it of what I write 
Theodore is now doing well, and I, at Least, feel much better 
satisfied with what is going on for his good than when he was 
at large, a si i" mortification and tion to you and his 

friends, and in a progress to the gradual but complete destruction 
of his mind, his health, and happiness. 



OF nEXRY CLAY. 



MB. CLAY TO FRANCIS BBOOKE. 

Was . December 16, 1 S33. 

My dear Sih. — I addressed a letter to you at Richmond, but 
understand that you are at St. Julien, to which T direct this 1< I 

"W t were highly gratified to-day in the Senate. We carried 
the appointment of every chairman of the committees as we 
wished ; and as far as we proceeded, every member of the several 
committees, with one unimportant exception. There is a fair 
prospect of our having in the Senate a majority of twenty-six 
or twenty-seven. 

"Whether it will be practicable to rescue the Government and 
public liberty from the impending dangers, which Jacksonism 
has created, depends, in my opinion, mainly upon the South ; 
and the course of the South will be guided mainly by Virginia. 
Hence the very great importance of this State taking a patriotic 
direction. I understand that you arc thought of for the Chief 
Magistrate. I know the sacrifices you must make, if you ex- 
cept that station; but can not you make them? '-'What is a 
public man worth who is not ready to sacrifice himself for his 
country?*' Depend upon it, that every thing for which you 
fought, or which you and I hold valuable, in public concerns, is 
in imminent hazard. By means of the Veto, the power as ex- 
ed of removing from office, the possession of the public 
treasures, and the public patronage, the living existence of lib- 
erty and the Government is, in my judgment, in peril. 

I mean myself to open and push a vigorous campaign. It is 
the campaign of 1777. I want aid — all the aid that can be 
given. I mean — which will surprise you — to be very prudent, 
but very resolute. Can you not assist us? 



ERASTUS ROOT TO MR. CLAY. 

Deliu, January 12, 1S34. 

Dear Sir, — I have read your speeches on the removal of the 
Deposits with much pleasure and deep interest. I perceive in 
them that force of argument and that commanding eloquence 
which I was wont to witness in former days, in the efforts of 
Henry Clay, in the cause of liberty and the Constitution. 

When, my dear sir, will the mad career of the '•'military 



876 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

in" be checked ? or is it never to meet with a check ? 
Will a thoughtless multitude, led on or encouraged by knavish 
politicians, always sing paeans of praise to the usurpations of a 
despot, if emblazoned with military renown? I fear the 
splendid and enormous bribe he has seized, and is now distribut- 
ing, will insure the object of his wishes — the succession to his 
throne. 

Under the Constitution, as now understood, is the Secretary 
of the Treasury an officer impeachable for high crimes and mis- 
demeanors ? Can the instrument be convicted of the crime it 
has perpetrated ? He might be forfeited as a deodaud. 

In your speeches on this occasion, I discover the same ardent 
patriotism, the same devotion to public and personal liberty 
which I so much admired when associated with you in the 
House of Representatives ; but from what you hinted to me last 
winter. I have some reason to fear that when the repeal of the 
Force bill shall come under consideration, in your House, you 
will cause me to regret a blot in your bright escutcheon. You 
were not present on the final passage of that odious bill, but I 
got the idea (I hope an erroneous one) that had you been present, 
you might have voted for it. With the sword and the purse, 
and that bill at his command, an American Caesar might sink 
into comparative insignificance that puny whipster of a Caesar 
whom you so eloquently described as swaying the final destinies 
of Rome. A part, and the most odious part, of the Force bill, 
I believe, will expire with the present session, but the Statute 
Book ought to be purged of that foul stain. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 14, 1834. 
$1y deab Sir, — I received your favor of the 12th. That 
written by you early in December never came to hand, and 1 
regret it. As to the repeal of the Force bill, there are parts of 
it which are permanent, and which, in my judgment, ought to 
remain, in dent of and distinct from any excitement in 

South Carolina. The two sections (the first and fifth) contain 
some provisions, to which I objected on their pa If the 

repeal of them were asked, not on the ground of the truth of 
the principles of nullification, but as expedient, since the neces- 



OF II EN 11 V CLAY. 377 

sity for them has passed by, to tranquillize the South, it mi 
not be objectionable; although, even in that view, those parts of 
the act expiring with the present session, by express limitation, 
• is no great utility in the repeal. But it is not asked on 
any other ground than that nullification is right, and to that I 
can not assent. If I could forget myself and my principles so 
much as to adopt those of nullification, it would prove my utter 
ruin as a public man. Nullification is every where in the min- 
ority but in South Carolina. In Kentucky, it can not hold up 
its head. And I think Mr. Calhoun has been unfortunate in 
stirring this matter, which had better be left to sleep quietly. 

What is doing in your Legislature about the deposits ? We 
want all aid here on that subject which can be given us from 
Richmond. What has been done there has been of immense 
ice to us. Virginia is herself again, and has once more the 
power to rally around her standard the friends of freedom. Bui 
bold, determined conduct on her part is necessary ; and particu- 
larly on the subject of the public treasury. If she now falters 
or falls back, it would have been better that she should have 
never excited any hopes ; for then we might have all sunk 
quietly into the abyss of despotism. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 10, 1834 

3Iy dear Sir, — I should have written you oftener, but for the 
best reason in the world, that I had really nothing to write that 
was interesting. 

The debate on the deposits continues. We are gaining both 

in public opinion and in number in the House of Representatives. 

probably stiil there in a minority, although the majority 

is not large, and will melt away if the current of public opinion 

continues to mix with us. 

I transmit you a letter in answer to one I received. I wish 
you to read and deliver it, unless you think I had better not have 
it delivered. We are here so accustomed to vetos, that I volun- 
tarily, you see, subject my letter to yours. 

Our city is full of distress committees. The more the better. 



378 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. TAZEWELL TO MR. CLAY. 

Norfolk, February 10, 1S34. 

Dear Sir, — An absence from this place for some weeks past 
has prevented me from receiving your favor of the 1st instant, 
until a short time since. I now hasten to reply to it. merely to 
give you some evidence of the consideration with which I re- 
gard any communication of yours. The opinion you asked of 
me upon the abstract question you proposed, even if entitled to 
more respect than my opinions ought ever to receive from you, 
can be of but little value now, when all the difficulties we en- 
counter proceed from the practical operation of measures, which, 
whether they may be traced to usurpation or to the mere abuse 
of power, reach the same actual results. But as you have asked 
my opinion, I will give it to you freely. 

Many years ago, soon after I became a member of the Senate, 
and before you last entered that body, I was under the necessity 
of discussing this question at large ; and to that end I then ex- 
amined it very carefully. The result of this examination was 
the conviction of my own mind, that all the executive power 
created by the Federal Constitution was confided thereby to the 
President, to be exercised by him at his discretion, and upon his 
high responsibility, except in the cases of appointments and of 
treaties, if indeed the latter may be considered as an executive 
power under this Constitution. In this opinion the majority of 
the Senate then concurred. 

Under this view of the subject, it seemed to me of little use 
to inquire, in regard to the power of removal from office, whether 
this was a substantive power or one merely accessorial to the 
power of appointment. For, as it was clearly an executive 
power, if it was a substantive power, it would then be embraced 
in the general Grant of all executive power, which, by the Con- 
stitution, is given to the President ; and if it was but an acces- 
sorial power, it must follow its principal, and appertain to the 
same functionary, to whom the principal power of appointment 
was granted by the Constitution in terms, although in the exer- 
cise of the power of appointment, he was required to consult 
'his advisory council, the Senate. 

This conclusion seemed to me the more apparent when I ad- 
verted to the other powers that are, obviously, merely accessorial 
to the power of appointment, such as the power of nominating 



OF HENRY CLAY. 379 

to office, and of commissioning. No one conld suppose that the 
Senate enjoyed either of these powers, although the Constitution 
required of the President to obtain their advice and consent, be- 
fore he could exercise bis power of appointment. The only rea- 
son for this is. that while the Constitution exacts of the Presi- 
dent the duty of consulting the Senate in all cases of appoint- 
ment, it imposes upon him no such obligation with regard to 
nominations or commissions. Then, as the exclusive right of 
the President to these new auxiliary powers must be conceded. I 
could discover no reason for denying to him the similar right to 
the other auxiliary power of removal, as to which also the Con- 
stitution was equally silent. 

The treaty-making power, too, seemed to me to furnish a 
strong illustration of the correctness of my position. Whether, 
under the Federal Constitution, this ought to be considered as 
an executive or legislative power, in either case it must carry 
with .it the accessorial powers of negotiation and ratification. 
Now although the consent of the Senate was required to give 
validity to every treaty, yet none could suppose that the advice 
of this body was requisite to justify the President in commenc- 
ing a negotiation, or that he was bound to ratify a treaty because 
the Senate had consented that this might be done. 

In the course of this debate, it was said by some Senator, 
that whatever might be the case elsewhere, under the Federal 
Constitution, the power of appointment was not an executive 
power, but belonged to an anomalous class, because it was con- 
fided to other depositaries than the executive ; that being an 
anomalous power, all its incidents must partake of this character, 
and appertain to the same depositaries to whom the principal 
power was intrusted by the Constitution. 

I could not admit the general character of the depositary to 
be the proper test by which to ascertain the nature of the power 
confided, especially as all our Constitutions furnished many ex- 
amples of the grants of power admitted to be purely executive 
to mere legislative or judicial functionaries. It seemed to me 
more correct to say that the character of the depositary was 
changed quo ad hoc than that of the power granted. I denied, 
therefore, that the power of appointment was an anomalous 
power, and contended that it was strictly executive. I could not 
admit either that this power of appointment was confided to the 
Senate, merely because the President was required to consult 



380 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

them before he exercised it effectually. As well might it be 
said, that the veto allowed to the President by the Constitution 
constituted him a part of the Legislature. In either case, the 
powers granted were negative, and not positive, and therefore 
could not be considered as active powers, which all legislative 
and executive powers must be. The Senate, in the case of 
appointments, were authorized to give or to withhold their con- 
sent when asked by the President ; but they had no authority to 
proffer their advice unasked ; nor was the President bound to 
follow it when properly given, although he could not act without 
it. Therefore, the power appertained to him and not to them. 
I could not discern how the character of the power granted, let 
this be ascertained how it might, could influence in any way the 
question of incidental authority. The accessory must follow its 
principal, whatever might be the name or nature of that prin- 
cipal. If they are once separated, and the powers confided to 
different hands, the accessory changes its character immediately, 
and becomes a new principal power, the matrix of other inci- 
dents. Otherwise, the greatest absurdities, and the most irre- 
concileable conflicts, would ensue. 

But I will not fatigue you with any further repet ; tio<i of the 
arguments then urged, except to say that it appeared to me 
manifestly absurd to regard the President as responsible for the 
acts of subordinate agents, and yet to deny to him the uncon- 
trolled power of supervising them, and of removing them from 
office whenever they had lost his confidence. 

Wliilc announcing these opinions, justice to myself requires of 
me to add, that in claiming for the President the exclusive right 
to all the executive power created by the Federal Constitution, 
I hold him accountable to Congress, to the people, and to the 
States, for every misuse of the discretionary power so granted to 
him. Believing that all the powers of all our Governments are 
derivative and not sovereign, I can not recognize any other than 
a mere verbal distinction between the abuse and the usurpation 
of any power. None can have the right to do wrong, although 
in cases where no tribunal exists to determine what is wrong, 
the mere possession of power must nee i Vbe regarded as the 
sole evidence of the right to use it at will. But in this country, 
where all political powers are granted, and therefore limited, 
there always exists a tribunal competent to decide upon the 
legitimate extent of powers. Here, then, the abuse of power 



OF HENRY CLAY. 381 

granted is both in kind and in degree, an equal offense with the 
usurpation of power not granted, unless we could conceive the 
impossible case of power granted to be abus 

I hav( r heard any so wild as to claim for the President 

any other executive powers than such as arc created by the 
Federal Constitution. Nor have I supposed that any could be 
so foolish as to regard what is called executive power in !1 i ;- 
land, or in any other country, as the measure and standard of 
such power here. The absurdity of such a pretension is so 
monstrous, that I can not consider it as meriting any serious re- 
futation. Once admit it to be true, and the Constitution would 
become a dead letter. We should then be sent abroad to learn 
the nature of our own Government, and might soon see the 
President proroguing, or even dissolving Congress at his pleasure, 
nay, creating a peerage, declaring war, and concluding treaties, 
without consulting any other department of the Government. 

It will always give me pleasure to hear from you. Our prin- 
ciples may not, perhaps, be in exact accordance, nor shall we 
always agree in the application of those in which we do concur. 
But we have each seen so much of the world now as not to 
consider such diversities as either injurious to its interests, or as 
constituting any proper cause to disturb relations that, with us, 
have been of long standing. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 10, 1834. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 6th inst., as I 
did that about the Compiler, with the subscription money which 
Mr. R. declined. 

I should write you oftener, but that I have really nothing of 
interest to communicate. Almost daily, too, I express in the 
Senate what I have to say on public affairs. 

The view taken by the writer in " The Whig,"' as to the ef- 
fect of either House not concurring in the sullieicncy of the 
reasons of the Secretary of the Treasury, had not escaped me. 
It would be conclusive, if the act of removing the public, de- 
posits was conditional, but it is a perfect and performed art, 
before the reasons are communicated to Congress. I have al- 
ways ] °lieved that if both houses concurred in pronouncing the 



882 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

insufficiency of those reasons, it would, without any further or 
other legislative action, become the duty of the Secretary to 
restore them, and I have wished to be able to think that such 
would be his duty, if either House disagreed with him. But if 
one House agree, and the other disagree, is not the result a state 
of neutrality ? 

We shall look to the issue of your approaching election with 
very great anxiety. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Wasiiixgtox, April 17, 1834. 

My dear Sir, — I leave here to-day for the Virginia Springs, 
on account of Mrs. Clay's health, which continues feeble and 
precarious. I shall return as soon as I can leave her with pro- 
priety. My own situation requires also relaxation. I feel very 
much prostrated. I hope I shall be able soon to return to my 
post with re-invigorated health. 

We are very thankful for the kind invitation contained in 
your letter of the 13th, but the condition of Mrs. Clay at present, 
is such, that she would only be a burden at St. .Tulien, without 
being able to enjoy its pleasures. I transmitted to you at Rich- 
mond some letters from New York, communicating the issue of 
the great three days' contest. It is felt by both parties here, as 
the precursor of the complete overthrow of Jacksonisin. 

We are still anxious about your elections, but feel confident of 
their being no variation from the last Legislature, in the aggre- 
gate result. 

The nullifiers are doing us no good here. You will have 
seen a badly-reported speech of mine, in answer to Mr. Calhoun. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, .March 23, 1S34. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor, transmitting a copy of 
the address of the minority of your Legislature. It did not 
strike me as possessing much ability, but on some points was 
very weak and vulnerable. [ am not aware that any answer to 
it from this place will be attempted. 



OF HENBT CLAY. 383 

I received also your subsequent favor. 

Things remain in statu quo here. There is a small, but as 
yet inflexible majority, sustaining the Executive in the House. 
If the elections in Virginia and New York, should be adverse to 
l . Iministration, that majority probably will be changed, but 
in an opposite event, it may be increased. Mr. Van Buren 
terday offered to bet me a suit of clothes upon each of the elec- 
tions in the city of New York and in your State. The Admin- 
istration party is very confident, and our friends are not without 
fears as to the issue of matters with you. It is with politics 
as with the currency. In certain states of both, a slight circum- 
stance produces much effect. We were not prepared here for 
the unfortunate result in Bouldin district. It depressed our side, 
and elevated the other, far beyond what such an event would 
have done at any other time. 

What are your real prospects? I should confide much in 
your judgment. Would you like to take up Van's bet ? 

I told him yesterday, that if the people entertained the Ad- 
ministration in its late measures, I should begin to fear that our 
experiment of free Government had failed ; that he would 
probably be elected the successor of Jackson ; that he would in- 
troduce a system of intrigue and corruption, that would enable 
him to designate his successor ; and that, after a few years of 
lingering and fretful existence, we should end in dissolution 
ol' the Union, or in despotism. He laughed, and remarked that 
I entertained morbid feelings. I replied, with good nature, that 
what I had said, I deliberately and sincerely believed. 



ALEXANDER COFFIN TO MR. CLAY. 

Hudson, New York, May 12, 1S34. 
Sir, — Nearly a century has passed over my head ; and, al- 
though I have witnessed, with much apprehension for the result, 
many hazardous scenes which my dear native country has strug- 
gled through in that time, not one has excited that trembling 
sense of alarm which the measures of the present Executive 
have done. I have remarked, in their whole course, an un- 
bridled lust of power, that attacked the very foundation of our 
free institutions. And, notwithstanding, a temperament naturally 
sanguine leads me to contemplate things under a cheering 



384 PRIVATE CORBESPONDEXCE 

aspect, "when I beheld his bold claims to lawless power sustained 
by men in whom I had placed trust. I confess a very gloomy 
prospect of the future presented itself: my spirit sunk within 
me ; and I begi n "to despair of the Rc J " But, thanks be 

to G I ho 1 thed into a phalanx of good men in the Senate 
of the United States, a spirit to breast the storm; and ha 
abled them, as I hope, to rescue the country from the danger 
that impended over it. Allow me to testify to you, sir. as a dis- 
ced individual in that phalanx, my respect, together with 
my th inks, for the very important share you bore in that con- 
flict ; and also, to tender my most hearty congratulations upon 
the prospect we now enjoy of seeing the Constitution and laws, 
redeemed from the grasp of usurpation, restored to heal tion. 

ty I beg you to accept, from a man far advanced in hi 3 94th 
year, the cane which will be handed you herewith, as a token 
of his gratitude for your eminent services rendered to our be- 
loved country ? It was made from the jawbone of a spermaceti 
whale, the head from a tooth of the .same, by the mate of a ship 
belonging to one of my grandsons, upon her homeward passage 
from the Pacific. 



JOHN NITCHIE TO MR. CLAY. 

American Biele Society, New Yoek, 
July 5, 1834. 

Sir, — It affords me much pleasure to inclose to you a certifi- 
cate of your membership for life in this society. The occasion 
of your being made a Life Member you will find from the extract 
of the letter of the individual making the needful contribution 
which is copied on the back of the certificate. 

Permit me, respected sir, in the name of the benevolent, but 
anonymous donor, to ask your acceptancy of this compliment; 
and also, to assure you, of my earnest desire that you and yours 
may have an eternal interest in the promises of that blessed 
Book, which it is the design of. this Society to spread abroad 
among the nations of this fallen world. 

Extract of a letter to John Nitchie, Gt neral Audit and Assist- 
ant Treasurer of the American Bible Society, dated July 3, 
183 

Dear Friend, — I send you the sum of thirty dollars, which I 
will thank you to present to the managers of the American Bible 



OF BENKY CLAY. 885 

Soci , ' > be devoted by them to the circulation of tl Holy 
i 

In ice of i 11 will pi enroll the 

name of the Honorable Henry f the Unit Senate. 

among your Life Members. 

The above is from a friend, which has arisen • tl (tin- 

ned savings of a Missionary, by his laying asid of fees 

and | ts at the time they were received; the entire amount 

of fi ceived on Sunday and Thursday of every week, also, 

free-will offerings under peculiar Providences: one tenth of his 
regular salary, and one tenth of the balance of his receipts dur- 
ing the year over his family expenses. 

You will please, forward to Mr. Clay, a certificate of his Life 
Membership ; also, beg him to lay aside a portion of his income, 
and thus constitute in like manner, at least one of his friends, a 
Life Member of your important society, and in so doing, I would 
beg him to request that friend thus constituted, to constitute 
some other individual a Life Member. In this way passing the 
excitement round from friend to friend, an amount of good will 
accumulate, which the full glories of the Eternal World alone 
can unfold. 

This is to certify, that Honorable Henry Clay, of the United 
States Senate, by virtue of a contribution of thirty dollars, made 
by a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, is a Mem- 
ber for Life of the American Bible Society, New York, July 

5th, 1834 

John Cotton Smith, President. 
J. N. Brigham, Cor. Secretary. 

Attest — Jou.v Nitciiie, General Agent am! | " •easurer. 



FRANCIS LIEBER TO MR. CL \Y. 

rniLADULPiii . ' S, 1834. 

My dear Sir, — I feel convinced . . you will not ascribe my 
delay in answering your favor to anj unsubstantial reason; on 
the contrary. I did not write immediately, because I was desir- 
ous of writing to you as definitely, i poi sibie. My wish is to 
sec you in Lexington, and to become personally acquainted with 
the College, etc., as well as to give tl who might desire to 



386 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

engage me for the College, an opportunity of personal acquaint- 
ance. The salary, as you yourself intimate, is not large, and I 
should not be able to incur the expenses of removing thither, 
and furnishing there my house again, if I had not some hopes 
of being able to have some young gentlemen living in my house. 

I should ere this have set out for Lexington, had I not actually 
been engaged in the publication of a work, which made my 
stay here indispensable. 

I 'send you in the mean time a testimonial, such as you men- 
tion. If more are desired, I may send more from here, as 
Messrs. Joseph Ingcrsoll, Sergeant, N. Biddle, Richard Peters, or 
in fact any gentleman of note here or in Boston, might be ap- 
plied to. 

If you should make a trip to Philadelphia, in the course of 
this winter, I would beg you to send me word that you are in 
town (in case that you should be here only for a day or two) ; 
you woidd greatly favor me with a personal interview. 

Politics seem, this moment, so sickening, that we avoid speak- 
ing of them, whenever possible. News, of the very worst kind, 
are here from New York. We are already in a revolution, as 
nations so often are long before they know it. " The Globe" 
plays very cheering preludes with regard to attacks upon the 
Supreme Court. My letters from Europe are of the worst kind, 
with reference to the moral influence of our general affairs on 
those of rational freedom, and the sway of law in that part of 
the world. 

A letter from you, though it consist but in a few lines, is al- 
ways a great delight to me ; and you will much oblige me by 
informing me whether this letter has not perhaps missed you. 
Please present my best respects to Mrsi Clay, who, I trust, has 
continued to improve in health. 



NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, January 4, 1835. 
My dear Sir, — I have been thinking tor some days past 
whether the time had not come when another interposition of 
yours is not needed to save the country from great trouble. In 
all this French negotiation, mismanaged as it has been from the 
beginning, nothing is so inexplicable as the manner in which 



OF HENRY (LAV. 387 

the overture of France has been treated, and I have been look 
for some movement from yen for the production of all that will 
be told of that communication. You know. I presume, the con- 
tents of it — if you have not seen it all; at any rate, you are 
sufficiently aware of the dates and circumstances, which would 
enable you to make a distinct call. If I do not mistake, Mr. 
Pageot communicated it on the 11th of September, a (c\v days 
before the orders went which will occasion Mr. Barton's return. 

On the 2d of December he sent it with a letter to the Depart- 
ment, and although it was sent back, yet his letter might be 
called for. 

It seems to me that this dispatch of the Duke de Broglie ought 
to have settled the matter in five minutes : and yet the country 
is to be cursed with a quarrel in which every disadvantage is on 
our side. 

If there is any thing connected with it which you wish to 
know, I think I can obtain the information ; and I forbear to 
add any thing, because I am under the impression that you arc 
apprised of the whole. Had you been at the head of the Gov- 
ernment, and the French ministry had said that they would deem 
that a happy day, when they would- be able to surrender this 
sum deposited in their hands, you would certainly have thrown 
no unnecessary obstacle in then- w r ay. 



CHANCELLOR KENT TO MR. CL \\. 

New York, January 9, 1835. 
My dear Sir, — Let me remind you to send me, when printed, 
one of the twenty thousand copies of your Report. I rather guess 
I shall like it. Like it ! why. God bless you. I sympathize with 
you in all your public feelings and doings since the beginning of 
the reign of the present dynasty. My prayer is. that length of 
days may be in your right hand, and in your left hand riches 
and honor. 



ELEUTH COOKE TO MR. CLAV. 

S\m>i -ky ( ii v, January - 
Dear Sir, — I can not withhold from you the heartfelt ex- 
pression of applause with which the Report oi' the Committee on 



888 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Foreign Relations, in reference to our affairs with France, lias 
been received in this quarter. All see, and most acknowledge, 
in it the evidence of that enlightened patriotism and consummate 
statesmanship which have more than once elevated the char. 
of our country, and rescued it from impending dangers. What- 
ever has been, and whatever may continue to he, the measure 
of injustice and ingratitude to its author, by tfoat country, now 
thrice saved by his wisdom, posterity can not fail to assign him 
ample justice on her brightest page. 

Excuse this frankness ; you know it is not flattery. I speak 
from the midst of those who at all times, and through all changes, 
have been your fixed and steadfast friends, not from a sordid hope 
of favor, but from an admiration of your exalted talents, your 
lofty independence, and a love of your principles. 

God knows what we are to do to preserve our country. Pressed 
as you must be with public duties, I dare not ask you (confiden- 
tially) what are the prospects ? 



MR. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Moxtteliee, January 31, 1S35. 

Dear Sir, — Perceiving that I am indebted to you for a copy 
of your Report on our Relations with France, I beg you to accept, 
this return of my thanks for it. The document is as able in its 
execution as it is laudable in its object of avoiding war without 
incurring dishonor. 

It must be the wish of all that the issue may correspond with 
the object. But may not a danger of rupture lurk under the 
conflicting grounds taken on the two sides ? That taken by the 
Message, and by the Report also, in a softened tone, that the 
treaty is binding on France, and is in no event to be touched ; 
and the ground taken, or likely to be taken by France, with 
feelings roused by the peremptory alternative of compliance or 
self-redress, that the treaty is not binding on her, appealing for 
the fact to the structure of her Government, which all nations 
treating with her are presumed and bound to understand. 

It may be well for both parties if Fiance should have yielded 
before the arrival of the Message, or not decided before that of 
the Report, or, at least, should not be inflexible in rejecting the 
terms of the treaty. A war between the two nations, which 



OF IIKN'KV (LAY. 389 

may cost them many millions, f>n- a stake not exceeding a few, 
would be an occurrence peculiarly unpropitious to the cause of 

popular representation in the present crisis of the political 
world. 

War is the more to be avoided, if it can be done without in- 
admissible sacrifices, as a maritime war, to which the United 
States should be a party, and Great Britain neutral, has no aspect 
which is not of an ominous cast. Enforce the belligerent lights 
of search and seizure against British ships, and it would be a 
miracle if serious collisions did not ensue. Allow them the rule 
of " free ships, free goods," and the flag covers the property of 
France and enables her to employ all her naval resources against 
us. The tendency of the new rules in favor of the neutral flag 
is to displace the mercantile marine of nations at war, by neutral 
substitutes, and to confine the war on water as on land to the 
regular force ; a revolution friendly to humanity as lessening the 
temptations to war and the severity of its operations, but giving 
an advantage to the nations which keep up large navies in time 
of peace over nations dispensing with them, or compelling the 
latter to follow the burdensome example. France has at present 
this advantage over us in the extent of public ships now, or that 
may immediately be brought into service, while the privilege of 
the neutral flag would deprive us of the cheap and efficient aid 
■of privateers. 

I do not relinquish the hope, however, that these views of the 
subject will be obviated by amicable and honorable adjustment. 

Should the course of your movements at any time approach 
Montpelier, I need not express the pleasure which a call from 
you would give to Mrs. Madison and myself. 



JOHN BROWN TO MR. CLAY. 

Fbansfobt, Ap -il 20, IE 
Mr. C. J. Ingersol has given me the melancholy intelligence 
of the death of my dear brother.* You may imagine, but it 
would be i ible for me to express how deeply, how pain- 

fully have been excited by this event. I in. 

stand that diaries Ingersol and my niece arc absent on a j 

* James Drown, brother-in-1 Iv. Clay, and his correspondent for thirty 

years. 



390 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ney for her health, and as I do not know that any person in 
Philadelphia has authority to take charge of my brother's effects. 
I have concluded that it was expedient that I should go on to 
attend to that business. It is certainly important that his papers 
shall be carefully preserved, and that his private correspondence 
shall not be exposed. I presume he has left a will, but know 
not who he has named executors. If you can give me any in- 
formation on this subject, I pray you to drop me a line by mail, 
and advise me how to proceed and inform what you would wish 
to have done. I expect to set out, on Wednesday, or Thursday 
at furthest. 



STUDENTS OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1835. 

Sir, — We take great pleasure, as a Committee of the "Clay 
Institute of Washington College," in communicating your elec- 
tion as an honorary member of our Association. 

We offer you this inadequate testimonial of our esteem, not, 
we hope, from a spirit of man-worship, but from an honest admi- 
ration of your virtues as a statesman, a philanthropist, and a 
man. We do not expect that by it we will confer honor upon 
you, but rather, as was said in the epitaph of a distinguished 
poet, " That you will confer honor upon us." 

Permit us, sir, to request your acceptance of this humble trib- 
ute, and of our warmest wishes for your happiness through life. 



II \RRIET M.YRTINEAU TO MR. CLAY. 

White Sulphub Springs, June 30. 

Dear Mr. Clay, — Your frank, which overtook me at Cincin- 
nati, was highly acceptable on its own account, as well as for 
the very delightful letters it inclosed from my mother and the 
Furnesses. My mother is in excellent health and spirits, and 
Mr. Furness writes me the happy news that his family will be 
in the neighborho d of Boston, and that lu* will preach there 
during the month of August, at least. 

We enjoyed our ten days' visit at Cincinnati very much, and 
found your kind introductions of eminent service. We staid 



OF IIKXKY CLAY. 891 

longer there than we had intended, from finding it impossible 
to travel at all in the interior of the State. A. gentleman es- 
caped out of the mud to his home, at last, after traveling al the 
rate of one mile an hour — a process which docs not suit the 
taste or convenience of Miss Jeffery or myself. Our voyage and 
journey hither were quite prosperous) and the only disappointment 
we have met with is the non-arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. 
As we see and hear nothing of them, and as the Lorings are 
obliged to go (by Mr. L.'s physician's advice) to the Hot Springs, 
where we do not want to go, we have accepted the offer of Mr. 
and Mrs. Sullivan of Boston, to travel together as far as Har- 
per's Ferry. They have engaged an extra, which will afford us 
plenty of room, and have stipulated to be eight days on the 
road, seeing the Natural Bridge and Weir's Cave, by the way. 
As we arc not in need of imbibing sulphur, and this pretty place 
is soon understood, we have no hesitation in embracing so very 
advantageous a plan of traveling, though it takes us away to- 
morrow. The Lorings flew to meet us on our arrival yesterday, 
and we find quite a throng of friends here from the Atlantic 
cities, and could make ourselves happy for a month, if we could 
stay so long. We shall leave our Philadelphia address in the 
post-office, in case of the arrival of any letters; but we expect 
no more from you. I almost hope there may be none, we have 
given you so much trouble already. 

Mr. Calwell will he most happy to see you: and in the mean 
while, all has been done to fulfill your request about making us 
comfortable. We shall never forget how much we owe to your- 
self and very many of your friends to render our stay in this 
country happy. We shall always love Mr. and Mrs. Erwin like 
near and dear connections of our own. I hope Mrs. Clay and 
Mrs. Erwin are both better. Pray present our respects and love 
to all your circle, and believe me, dear sir, ever respectfully and 
gratefully your friend. 

P. S. Mr. Prather has been here a few days, improving hourly 
in health. He requests me to mention the safe arrival of the 
party, and that they are anxiously looking for Mr. and Ml 
Smith. I have been introduced to Mr. P. since 1 wrote the first 
part of this letter. 

I have also been weighed ; and find my ponderosity to be one 
hundred and sixteen pounds ; — within two of Mr. Erwin's guess; 



392 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

and Louisa weighs one hundred and ten. So now you know 
another portant cireu :e about us. Poor Mrs. Loring 

wei [h ighty-five pounds. Mr. L's. oyes are no better. 

This P. S. is for Mr. Erwin, if you will be kind enough to show 
it to him. 



MR. CLAY TO .*' 

Abitland, July 14, 1S35. 

Dear Sir, — I received last night your favor of the 8th in- 
stant. Having experienced the constancy and fidelity of your 
friendly attachment to me. and entertaining a high opinion of 
your discretion and judgment, I shall answer it with all the 
frankness and freedom with which I would address any friend, 
on the interesting subject of the next Presidential election. 

After the result of the election of 1S32, 1 have felt no desire to 
hav • i ain presented as a candidate, unless I was satisfied 

that it was the wish of a probable majority of the people of the 
United States. Under the influence of this feeling, far from en- 
couraging any movements in my favor, I have, in several in- 
stances, dissuaded them from being made, when I was consulted. 
I have indeed sometimes thought, since that period, that a state 
of things might arise which would induce a majority of the peo- 
ple to turn their attention toward me ; but it has not occurred. 
It is possible that if the Whigs had manifested no inclination to- 
ward other candidates, and had thought proper to have adhered 
to me, such a state of things might have arisen. But the solici- 
tude of I gentlemen, ips more entitled than I am to be 
chosen Chi ef Magistrate, and the discouragement of the use of 
my name, resulting from the issue of the last contest, have led 
respectable portions of the Whigs, in different States, to direct 
their views to other candidates than myself. The truth is that 
I was .'' , di inclined to be pn I as a candidate in 1S32, 
fearing the issue which took place, but I was overruled by 
friend . some of whom have since thought it expedient, in con- 
seqm f that very event, that another name should be sub 
tuted f ie. 

u ning to pass i lion upon the measure adopt- 

ed by the Whig members of your Legislature, at the last winter 
session, except in I 1 to its operation upon the prospects of 

* The latter part of this letter, with its address, is lo 



OF HENRY CLAY. G93 

my election, I must say that I think ii was highly injurious to 
those j -;. Ohio had been consid ' tate which 

(Jackson o ' the way) Would certainly bestow her sum-age 
on me, ii' f were a candidate. It lieved, and probably is 

yet 1 I 1, that no candidate would unite so much strength in 
opposition to Mu\ Van Bnren as I could. When, therefore, it was 
seen that Ohio, instead of manifesting a disposition to support 
me, was disposed, through her Legislature, to bring forward 
another gentleman, it exhibited a division in our party, and a 
distrust of the extent of my strength which had an unfavorable 
effect on my pretensions. There were many too who could not 
see the policy or propriety of selecting, as a candidate, a gentle- 
man who was an original friend of Jackson, in preference to all 
who had been uniform in opposition to him. The principle, on 
which such a selection was founded, looked too much to support 
expected to he derived from the Jackson ranks, without suffi- 
ciently estimating the amount that might be lost in our own from 
positive a i, or apathy and indifference. 

I have never said that I would not consent, under any circum- 
stances, to be a candidate. I have said that I did not wish to 
be a candidate, except on the condition before mentioned, that 
is, that I was desired by a probable majority of the country, or 
at least that there was strong reason to believe that I should not 
be again defeated. I could not have declared that my name 
should not be used, in any contingency, without violating a prin- 
ciple of public duty, which subjects the services of every citizen 
of the country to the call of the majority. But I have reserved 
to myself the right of controlling and arresting, as far as I could, 
any movement which might be attempted in my behalf that was 
likely to end in defeat. 

I must now, in frankness, say that the condition on which I 
should be willing to be run has not heretofore i i. and does 

net seem to me now to exist. I have no reason to believe that 
I should he elected if 1 were brought forward ; none to think 
that I am the wish of the majority of the people. And it is re- 
pugnant to my feelings nse of propriety to be voluntarily 
placed in an attitude in which I would seem to he importuning 
the public for an office which it is not willing t • c :. It is 
possible indeed, as. many of my f Is tl ' in- 
clined to believe from the information I possess, that, if I - 
the only Whig candidate in opposition to Mr. Van Buren, I would 



394 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

receive a greater support than any other ; but I apprehend it 
would fall short of securing my election. 

T have appropriated too much of this letter to myself, the least 
important part of yours. But I will now give you my candid 
views as to the state of the country and the best policy, as it 
seems to me, for the Whigs to pursue. 

I will not take up time in 'dwelling on the calamity of Mr. 
Van Buren's election. It is enough for me to express my con- 
viction that it would lead to a system of general corruption, and 
end in a subversion of the Union. 

I feel too with you the absolute necessity to secure his defeat, of 
union and concert among those who are opposed to him. Can that 
union and concert be produced on Judge White ? I think not, 
for a reason already stated. He has been throughout a supporter 
of Jackson's administration, and holds no one principle (except 
in the matter of patronage) as to public measures in common 
with the Whigs. Although for other reasons he is to be prefer- 
red to Van Buren. I apprehend that it would be impossible, if 
we were to take him up as our candidate, to infuse among our 
friends the spirit and zeal necessary to insure success, especially 
in States where internal improvements and the American sys- 
tem have been popular. The Judge, however, seems to be the 
favorite of the South and South-west ; and, from all the lights 
which we possess, it is probable that he will obtain their undi- 
vided suppor-t. At least it is so probable as to make it a justifia- 
ble basis of future calculation. 

While Mr. Webster has attainments greatly superior to those 
of any other nominated candidate, it is to be regretted that a 
general persuasion seems to exist that he stands no chance. I 
believe that, if he stood a fair chance elsewhere, by great effort, 
the vote of this State might be given to him. In this opinion, 
however, I differ from many of my friends. 

General Harrison could easier obtain the vote of Kentucky 
than any other candidate named. Judge McLean has not re- 
cently been much spoken of, was never generally popular here, 
but against Van Buren perhaps be might obtain the vote of Ken- 
tucky. 

You will say this is not a very favorable account of the pros- 
pects of the several candidates opposed to Mr. Van Buren. It is 
not, and I regret it, but I believe it to be true. 

What then is to be done ? Nothing toward an union upon 



OF HENRY CLAY. 895 

either of them by public assemblies, in my opinion, until aftei 
the election in Pennsylvania. Great confidence exists that the 
Jackson candidate for Governor there will lie defeated, and as 

great that, in thai event, the State will not support Mr. Van 
Buren. Mr. Webster's friends. General Harrison's, and Judge 
M'Lean's, each persuade themselves that the vote of the State 
will be given to thru- favorite. Now. it' we can have reasonable 
assurance that Pennsylvania will support either of them, I should 
think it would he our true policy to rally upon that one. and 
employ all our energies to give him as great an amount of sup- 
port as possible. 

There would then he three candidates : Mr. Van Buren, Mr. 
White, and the Pennsylvania favorite. And if White gets the 
South and South-west vote, or nearly all of it, and Pennsylva- 
nia and the Whig States North of the Potomac, and in the West, 
including Louisiana, unite on a candidate, he would enter the 
House with the largest vote, and Van Buren might have the 
smallest vote of the three. 

I agree with you that whoever is returned to the House will 
be elected. If his plurality is considerable, after the experience 
which we have had. and upon general principles, it is desirable 
that he should be chosen. 

On a late occasion of a public dinner, given to Governor 
Poindexter, I avowed publicly my opinion in opposition to Mr. 
Van Buren. This I should not have done, but for the report 
that I favored his pretensions in a contest with Judge White, 
which was industriously circulated. You will see what I said 
in the public papers. The truth is, that I think the election of 
either Mr. Van Buren or Judge White would be a great misfor- 
tune, although that of the Judge would be the least. I did not 
express my preference between the other candidates, which it ap- 
peared to me improper to do. But I have no hesitation in say- 
ing to you that either Mr. Webster, General Harrison, or Judge 



LOUISA CAROLINE JEFFERY TO MR. CLAY. 

N*KW Yor.K. July 19 

My ni' lb Sis, — Will you allow "little insignificant me" (to 
parody Miss Kemble's words) to answer your last kind letter ad- 
dressed to Miss Martineau ? She has received safely the differ- 



396 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ent letters and newspapers you kindly forwarded to her, includ- 
ing the parcel transmitted through .Sir Charles Vaughan. Since 
we left the Virginia Springs, wc have made a very pleasant jour- 
ney through " the valley to Harper's Ferry, with Mr. and Mrs. 
William Sullivan of Boston, visiting the Natural Bridge and 
Weir's < lave hy the way, which ohjects are greatly inferior to the 
Falls of Niagara and the Mammoth Cave, in interest. We have 
been spending a few days here, visiting Long and Staten Islands, 
and on Tuesday morning we go up the North River to West 
Point, Catskill, and probably to Saratoga ; thence to Stock- 
bridge, and after visiting some of the pretty New England vil- 
lages, we shall go to Boston about the 14th of August. 

Miss M. received rather unfavorable accounts of the political 
state of England from her brother. He appears to think that 
the Tory influence (used in intimidating and bribing electors) 
will be too strong for the Whigs ; that they will not carry large 
enough measures to satisfy the people, and there will follow that 
dangerous state of things, pressure from without ; and to what 
is this Tory reaction to be attributed ? To the imbecility of the 
Whigs, I suppose the Radicals will say. I should rather attribute 
it to the fears of the timid, arising from the constant complaints 
of the Radicals since the passage of the Reform Bill, and the 
confidence these disputes inspired the Tories with, that they 
might rise through the want of union among their opponents. Did 
you see that Lord Stanley asserts, on the authority of a friend at 
Washington (of course Mr. Murray), that Americans are all Con- 
servative ? If by Conservative he means Tory, I think he 
would find himself mistaken, and I can not think Mr. Murray 
could mean to make such an assertion. You, in the great kind- 
ness of your heart, will excuse my want of talent to condense 
all my matter into one page. 

We feel very grateful for Judge Porter's kind regards and re- 
membrances, and though passing through a very excellent chan- 
nel, they might be still more welcome did they come more di- 
rect. When you write to him next, will you just mention that 
Miss M. and I sent him a joint packet, which we trust he re- 
ceived safely, though it was only directed, A.ttacapas, La. Give 
my very kind love to Mrs. Erwin ; tell her I trust she will par- 
don me for my neglect in not writing to her ere this, but she 
shall certainly have my impressions of Yankee land. 

I feel very grateful that my name is joined with my compan- 



OF HBNBT CLAY. 397 

ion in the recollections of the kind and • at inhabitants i f 

Woodlands and Ishland. Some of my most pleasin . < i : 1 - 
tions are connected with my visit to Lexington. I am fully 

aware I have no claim on your very valuable time, but if, in the 
exceeding benevolence of your heart, yon put pen to and 

honor me with a few lines, to tell \\y- how cur verj ' fri snds 

are and something of their thoughts and feelin I '11 feel 
more grateful than any lady in whose album you hav ritten, 
inasmuch as a few words from Mr. Clay's heart arc worth p 
of his handwriting, though that has its value. I do in i 
you so difficult a subject to treat on as " the compatibility of the 
Roman Catholic religion with freedom." 

We shall be much pleased to meet Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We 
arc much grieved to hear of Mrs. Clay's continuous indisposition. 
Remember us most kindly to her, and our best love to the dear 
inhabitants of Woodlands ; and, with our united kind regards 
and grateful recollections to yourself, believe me yours, etc. 



JAMES BARBOUR TO MR. CLAY. 

Bap.eoiiv--vii.li; August 2, 1835. 

On the subject of politics, since our retrograde movement in 
April, in this State, I have desponded almost to despair. That 
our jugglers should succeed in seducing the people into a belief 
that it was premature to discuss the Presidential election, and 
that the issue should be Leigh, the bank, instruction, and all 
that kind of stuff, and the moment they had succeeded, turn 
right round, claim a Van Burcn victory, send delegates to the 
Rump Convention, and immediately demand of their partisans 
implicit obedience — and all this juggling to be acted in broad 
daylight, without producing an immediate and violent reaction, 
seems to me to render our scheme of self-government highly 
doubtful. Not having left my house scarcely since, personally I 
know but little. If there have been any changes in the State, 
as yet, I fear they are few. The Whigs seem generally to have 
determined to support White. \ small accession from the 
Jackson ranks might give us the majority in the State, but the 
leaders of the latter have told their creatures that the Whigs are 
playing false ; they wish to divide the Jacksonians, so as to bring 
the election into the House (of which they express a holy hor- 



398 PEIYATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ror), with a view to elect Webster, yourself, or some other 
Whig. It is this which constitutes the most formidable obstacle 
to our success in this State. The running of three candidates 
they seize upon in confirmation of their charge, and it is this 
that alone gives them hopes of success here. For being apart 
from this weapon, and the endorsement of Jackson, would not 
obtain five hundred votes in the State. But I am quite satisfied 
that no candidate can sticceed against him here, notwithstanding 
his unpopularity, unless it be one maintaining the favorite doc- 
trine of the State, especially one who has been opposed, and is 
now opposed to the Bank. For independent of the long cher- 
ished hostility to that institution, since Jackson's hostility has 
been avowed, and his party acquiring success by their incessant 
clamor on that head, all those in pursuit of office, whatever may 
be their real opinions, have joined in the denunciation. Oppo- 
sition, therefore, to this institution, is now a fixed maxim in the 
political creed of this State, as much so, as- the undivided God- 
head with a Mohammedan. White happens in this respect to 
stand well, and therefore I think is the strongest man that can 
be presented to Virginia. In addition to this, the slave question 
begins, as I learn, to excite a strong sensation among some of 
our people. Locality associates Van with the fanatics of his 
State, and it is not improbable will have a greater influence in 
the South, than any other circumstance in the contest. Web- 
ster is out of the question here ; McLean is not thought of ; 
Harrison, next to White, stands foremost I should conclude. It 
seems to me, however, on the whole, that we have no prospect 
of excluding Van, but by the plan you suggest of selecting two 
candidates that will be strongest in their respective sections. 
White, 1 apprehend for the South, Webster, for the East, North, 
and West, or whomsoever Pennsylvania prefers — for in my 
view, she holds the election in her hands. By running two 
popular men, we have the prospect of retaining or acquiring the 
ascendency in the State Government, an object of great import- 
ance, and almost a compensation for the loss of our Presidential 
candidate. For example, even here, we hope, through White, 
of regaining our ascendency, where, with an inferior candidate, 
we should he in a decided minority. Fortunately in Pennsylva- 
nia, the division in the Jackson ranks promises success to the 
.Whig candidal.' for Governor. If he succeed it will be sovereign 
in the contest for President. This election occurring in Octo- 



OF HENRY (LAV. 399 

ber will become a beacon to us in the difficulties with which 
we are surrounded. With its aid, the ensuing winter, you may 
decide upon the besl course our affairs furnish. Hence, 1 throw 
cold water on Pleasant's proposed meeting in this State lor this 
month, and it has been prudently abandoned. Personally dis- 
satisfied with White, I will support him only because he is a 
c evil than Van. I shall wait patiently the development of 
Us. and be prepared to follow any cDurse esteemed best to 
exclude Van. I read, and was much pleased with your remarks 
touching this gentleman, made at the Poindexter fete. 



MR. CLAY TO JOHN BAILHACHE. 

Ashland, September 13, 1S35. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor this evening of the 9th 
instant, returning $15 collected of me at Cincinnati, for your pa- 
per published at Columbus. I own to you that there was some- 
thing in the time and circumstances under which the demand 
was made that gave me momentary mortification. I believed 
then that it was without your instructions or sanction, and your 
letter confirms my belief. Had the application been made to 
me at home, and not in the presence of strangers ; had it not 
been made as if I were a person of doubtful integrity, it would 
not have excited any feeling. Your friendly letter has perfectly 
relieved me. It has preserved you on the ground of honor and 
delicacy where I had always been accustomed to regard you. 
The only regret 1 now feel is that you did not retain the sum, 
while you made the explanation. Although your paper was 
sent to me, as stated by you, and as many others have been for- 
warded, I ought to pay the subscription, having received the 
value. And you must allow me to consider myself indebted to 
you the amount, to be paid at some time when 1 shall have the 
pleasure of seeing you, which I hope and sincerely desire may 
be soon. 

I shall be glad at all times to hear from you on public affairs, 
or any other topic. I saw a good deal of General Harrison at 
Cincinnati. Very little passed between us on the subject of the 
Presidency. He was very respectful and cordial. He appeared 
to be in good spirits, and I thought seemed confident. I adhere 
to the opinion expressed in my former letter, that, if Pennsylva- 



400 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

nia will give satisfactory demonstrations of an intention to sup- 
port him, it will be expedient, under all circumstances, to run 
him as the most available candidate against Mr. Van Boren. The 
issue of the Rhode Island election foil j that of Connecticut, 

proves, I fear, that it is in vain to look even to New England for 
the support of Mr. Webster. 



HENRY CLAY, JR., TO HIS FATHER. 

Bordeaux, September 17, 3 835. 
Dear Father, — I send to-day by the ship Tuskina, the Span- 
ish ass Don Manuel. Mr. Haggerty in New York will have 
him put upon grass until he can hear from you. I have written 
to him to draw upon you for the expenses of transportation. 
The captain carries him for $50, I finding every thing. The 
captain's bill, and the charges in New York and on the way 
to Kentucky, will be all that are to be paid. May I beg that 
you will meet this bill, and that you will write to James -Hag- 
gerty of New York, whom you know, such directions as will 
be proper. The ass has been rode and he is as gentle as a dog, 
so that a small boy might ride him. He is a very fine ass, about 
thirteen and a half hands and half an inch or one inch high. 
I am induced to send him because the Tuskina is a large packet 
and the only fine one in port. I shall go in a few days to the 
Hautes Pyrenees department where I hope to procure some good 
Spanish asses. There is a mistake about them in America. 
The few I have seen are very handsome. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

Maysville, November 19, 1835. 

My dear Wife, — I got to Governor Metcalfe's, last night, in 
good time, and reached here to-day, at two o'clock. The 
weather has been very fine, and my ride was a very good one. 
They tell me that a steamboat will be here this evening, in 
which, when it arrives, I shall embark. I have directed Aaron 
to go to Governor Metcalfe's to-morrow night, and the next day 
home. 

I feel very uneasy about our dear daughter, Anne. I sincerely 



OF HENRY (LAY. 401 

hops thnt she may gel \ i ". and t?iat all my apprehensions may 
prove gronndle 

I feel too, my dear wif I sincerely and excessively alive 

respecting your lonely situation. I regret it extremely, and 
whateveryou may think to thecontrary, I should have preferred, 
greatly, your accompanying me. Bnt I hope and believe thru 
this is the last separation, upon earth, that will take place, for 
any length of time, between us. And I hope that yon will make 
every effort in your power to he cheerful, contented, and happy. 



MR. ERWIN TO MR. CLAY. DEATH OF MRS. ERWIN. 

The Woodland?, December 15, 1835. 

Mr dear Sir, — I feel myself scarcely equal to the task which 
my duty imposes, that of writing you at this time, and speaking 
of the late dreadful calamity with which it has pleased God to 
afflict us — by which, at the same fatal blow, has been taken 
from- you a daughter, unequaled in filial devotion and love, and 
from me a wife, the most devoted, kind, and virtuous, with which 
man was ever blessed. 

Other friends have, I learn, given you the particulars of this 
sad event, which will spare me the pain of presenting to you the 
heart-rending scene which was so unexpectedly produced by 
the hand of Providence. 

My home, lately the happiest, which I have shared for years 
with a beloved wife, who returned my affection with a devotion 
almost unknown, who, whether I was worthy or not, honored 
me with a love and confidence which L would not have ex- 
changed for the whole world beside, that home is now to me in- 
supportable. Every object that presents itself — each tree and 
flower, once so dear when objects of her care — now serve only 
to make known to me my loss and my misery. The beloved 
object who gave life and animation to all, has left me to lament 
over my wretched fate. 

You, my dear sir, I am fully sensible, can and will extend to 
me more sympathy than any other human being — you who best 
knew her exalted worth, who have daily witnessed onr happi- 
ness, not surpassed, I vainly believe, in the annals of wedded 
life — you who shared our pleasures and our joy. who bestowed 
upon me the choicest gift of heaven, can feel for me. hut who, 

26 



402 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

I fear, will require for yourself all the sympathy of your friends, 
and all the philosophy with which you are endowed, to support 
you under this sad bereavement. Mrs. Clay, although in reality 
scarcely able to support herself under this severe trial, has sup- 
pressed, as far as she was able, her own feelings, intent only 
i!i rendering to me and my dear children every kindness which 
her judgment and affection could suggest. She has abandoned 
her own home and remained with us, exerting herself to preserve 
the babe, which has cost us all so dear. 

My children, now ten-fold more dear to me than before, af- 
ford me much consolation, yet they are the objects of my great- 
est solicitude ; for me to remain here is impossible, and to part 
from any of them, at this moment, will be equally trying. Mrs. 
Clay at once kindly proposed taking charge of all of them, and 
to have Miss Brulard remove to Ashland, for the present, and 
teach them as before. Miss B. wishes to return South, and the 
plan now is, to leave the three youngest at Ashland, the babe, 
with Lotty and a wet nurse, under Mrs. Clay's care, and for the 
two boys, Henry and James, to accompany me. 

I expect to leave for New Orleans two days hence. My boys 
Avill be important to me, and I shall take care not to let any feel- 
ing prevent their having the best means for their improvement 
afforded them. 

I shall hope to hear from you very soon after I reach New Or- 
leans. 



CHAPTER X. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1836, '07, '38, AND '39. 

GOVERNOR M : DUFFIE TO MR. CLAY. 

Abbeville, C. IT., January 27, 183G. 

My dear Sir, — I am from home, and you most excuse the 
foolscap on which I write. Perceiving the message relative to 
the French indemnity referred to your Committee, I am irresisti- 
bly compelled to make a suggestion or two. You again have it 
in your power for the third or fourth time, to save the country 
from a great calamity. It is perfectly obvious that if the An- 
nual Message of December last had been permitted to reach 
France before any additional cause of irritation was given by the 
President, the indemnity would have been promptly paid by the 
French Executive. The king and the ministry have all along 
been meet anxious to adjust the difficulty and pay the claim. 
They have had to struggle with a refractory Chamber, who have 
co-operated with General Jackson's weakness and folly to pro- 
duce war. Now it seems to me that the course for Congress to 
pursue, for the interest and true honor of the country, is perfectly 
plain ; and that is, to be as courteous and civil as the President 
has been rude and insulting. State, what is evidently true, a 
confidence that there is a desire, on the part of the king and 
ministry, to adjust the matter without war, and a belief that they 
will pay the indemnity, when they read the annual Message, 
and that consequently no preparations for war are necessary. I 
have not a doubt that such a course would insure a peaceable 
and prompt adjustment of the existing differences. 

If war ensues, Congress must now be responsible. It will 
proceed from their acts, and not those of the President. Even 
his last Message would be nothing to France, if Congress would 
again adopt the course you recommended last year. If it should 



404 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

fail, there will still be time to prepare during the session for non- 
interconrse, for I can not believe a war possible. A non-inter- 
course act on our part would not, I am sure, lead to a declaration 
of war by France. They could not make it a ground of war. 

I beg you, my dear Sir, to excuse this liberty. The magni- 
tude of the interests involved must be my apology. A war with 
France would be utterly ruinous to the Southern States, and 
God knows what would be its effect upon public liberty. It 
would be the most signal example of the folly of nations the 
world ever witnessed. We go to war for five millions, which is 
sponged out by the declaration, and with a certainty that we 
shall lose ten limes as much, and never can compel France to 
pay one cent. 



MR. CLAY TO LESLIE COMBS. 

Washington-, March 9, 1836. 

Deap. Sir, — I received your favor of the 26th ultimo. My 
impression is that both the legacy was paid and the land assigned 
to Morrison Boswell, agreeably to the will of Colonel Morrison j 
but all the papers of the estate being at home, I can certainly 
affirm nothing and do nothing until my return. 

We learn from Kentucky that Morehead has declined, leaving 
the field to Clarke. I hope no feelings unfavorable to his suc- 
cess will remain. Mr. C. A. Wicklifle is to be run as Lieuten- 
ant Governor with him, as we learn. Any arrangement as to 
individuals ought to be held subordinate to the great object of 
the prevalence of principles. 

I have hopes, not unmixed with fears, about the Land bill. 
I do not know why your Pension case moves so slowly, or rather 
does not move at all, in the House. Crittenden and I spoke the 
other day of starting it in the Senate ; and if it does not mend 
its pace in the House we may attempt that course. 



MISS JEFFERY TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, March 10, 1836. 
My dear Sir, — I sail from New York on the 1st of April, in 
the packet ship Orpheus. Can I take any parcel or communi- 
cation for you to your son or to Mrs. Henry Clay ? And will 



OF BENBY CLAY. 405 

you favor mc with a letter of introduction to the latter ? as I 
think she might be pleased to sec in a foreign county, a person 
who had seen and known her own relations ; and though I am 
afraid I can do but very little to increase her pleasure, yet I 
should wish to show, at least, how very grateful I feel for all the 
kindness I have received from you and yours, by adding my 
mite if I can. Will you remember me to Mrs. Clay and assure 
her of my lively recollections of her kindness. I am afraid 
there is nothing in the world I can do for you; but should you 
ever wish for any thing which I can procure in England, I shall 
be very much pleased to be employed. Remember- me to Judge 
Porter. 



GEORGE TUCKER TO MR. CLAY. 

University of Virginia, June 30, 1836. 
My dear Sir, — Before you receive this you will have learned 
the death of our venerated friend, James Madison. I take the 
liberty of asking you to have the inclosed resolutions published 
in "The Intelligencer," and I can not lose this opportunity of 
letting you know, or rather of giving you a further proof of the 
high place you held in his estimation. When I was last with him, 
a few days after the short interview I had with you in Washing- 
ton, we were conversing on the affairs of the nation — and es- 
pecially on the then agitating question of the efforts of the Abo- 
litionists — when, with that absence of his habitual reserve on 
political topics, of which he had of late afforded me many flat- 
tering proofs, he said, " Clay has been so successful in his com- 
promising other disputes, I wish he could fall upon some plan 
of compromising this, and then all parties (or enough of all par- 
ties, I forget which) might unite and make him President." 
Knowing his desire to be at peace with all, and to escape the 
coarse and reckless vituperation of the newspapers, I never ven- 
tured to mention this except to one or two discreet friends, nor 
would I now do it to any one who would make it public, as in 
the virulence of party feeling, it would operate with many prej- 
udiced minds to abate the respect that the nation will be dis- 
posed to show to his memory, and by thus detracting somewhat 
from the weight and influence of his good opinion, deprive 
of your just rights. 1 never, however, intended that such a re- 
mark should be buried, as that would have been a still gr< 



406 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

injustice to you, and meant, and still mean in good time to make 
it known. You see I write frankly, but I trust not at the ex- 
pense of delicacy 

Would it be practicable, and if practicable, would it be safe 
and prudent to extend the franking privilege to Mrs. Madison? 
You can appreciate the real objections, if there be any, without 
being deterred from your views of right, by chimerical appre- 
hensions. I pray you then to consider of it, if not too late, and 
act accordingly. 

I forwarded to you last year two copies of my discourse be- 
fore our Philosophical Society — one for yourself and the other 
for Miss Martineau. Did they reach you in time before she left 
you ? 

You must have a mixed feeling of triumph, contempt, and 
amusement, that the majority have been obliged, virtually, to 
pass your Land bill, under another form. 



HARRIET MARTINEAU TO MR. CLAY. 

New Yore, July 26, 1836. 

Dear Sir, — I am just about to sail for England, and I do not 
know where you are, but I can not help writing once more, to as- 
sure you of my respectful and affectionate remembrance ; and of 
the earnestness with which I shall always watch for tidings of 
you and yours. If you should ever chance to visit England, you 
will give my mother and me the pleasure of seeing you at " 17 
Pludyer St., Westminster ;" and if, in the mean time, I can be of 
any service to you whatever in furnishing information, or in 
any other way, pray write to me there : and it will delight me 
to be of use to you. 

Pray remember me most kindly to Mrs. Clay and Mr. Erwin, 
and believe me ever yours faithfully and aifectionately. 



MRS. MADISON TO MR. CLAY. 

Montteler, November 8, 1836. 

The continued and very severe aifeclion of my eyes, not per- 
mitting, but with much difficulty, even the signature of my 
name, has deferred, dear friend, the acknowledgments due for 



OF HENRY CLAY. 407 

your very kind and acceptable letter of August 18th. I should 
sooner have ted for this purpose to the pen of an amanuen- 

sis, but that the failure of my general health combining equal, 
and sometimes greater su . rendered dictation very painful, 

and hope still flattered me that I might yel use my own. So 
much time having elapsed with but little improvement in my 
situation, I can submit to no longer delay in offering this expla- 
nation of my silence, nor omit the expression of my deep sensi- 
bility to that pure and true sympathy which I am conscious I 
receive from such highly valued friends as Mrs. Clay and yourself. 

The sources of consolation in my bereavement which you 
suggest, are those which my heart can most truly appreciate. 
The reflected rays of his virtues still linger around me, and my 
mind now dwells with calmer feelings on their mellowed tints. 
He left me, too, a charge, dear and sacred, and deeply impressed 
with its value to his fame, and its usefulness to his country. The 
important trust sustained me under the heavy pressure of recent 
loss, and formed an oasis to the desert it created in my feelings. 

In fulfillment of his wishes I have, therefore, devoted myself 
to the object of having prepared for the press the productions 
of his own pen. It will form the surest evidence of his claim to 
the gratitude of his country and the world. With the aid of my 
brother, who had prepared copies of the debates in the Revolu- 
tionary Congress and in the Convention, under Mr. Madison's 
eye, triplicates have been completed for publication here and 
abroad. My son went, in July, as far as New York, and re- 
mained there for the purpose of negotiating with the most emi- 
nent publishers, and I have had communication with those in 
other cities, but no offer has been made by any entitled to confi- 
dence, which would free me from heavy and inconvenient pecu- 
niary advances and the risk of impositions and eventual loss. 
Under these circumstances I have been advi • I by a friend to 
offer the work to the patronage of Congress , ig their aid so 

far as to relieve the work from the charges upon it, principally 
for literary and other benevolent pur] . and, after their use 
by Congress, to give me the stereotype plates. This would at 
once allow me to throw them into general circulation on a scale 
that would remunerate me more i, rdance with the expecta- 

tions entertained by their author, and would also allow the price 
to be so graduated as to insure their general diffusion. 

As this plan was suggested by one favorable to the Adniinis- 



403 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

tration, he advised also that the channel of his friends, as the ma- 
jority of those who were to decide on the proposition, should 
be empl tyed in making it, and pledged their support. This 
worl. . » a record only of what passed preceding the existence 
of pi parties, can not associate the name of Mr. Madison 

with ith .-. and therefore its intn n and advocacy by the 

one ci no bar to the favor of the other. On your part, I am 

sure that, in my yielding to it this direction, yon will perceive 
no deviation from the high respect and friendly regard I enter- 
tain toward yourself, but approving an adoption of this course as 
most conducive to success, you will, with your friends, insure it 
on the merits of the work alone, uninfluenced by adversary feel- 
ing toward the source from whence the measures originated. 

It was my intention to have gone to Washington, principally 
with a view to obtain in personal conference the advice of my 
best friends, but my protracted ill health, and the approach of an 
inclement season I fear may prevent the journey. 

In addition to three volumes of the Debates (near six hundred 
pages each) now ready for the press, matter enough for another 
volume is expected, and nearly four hundred pages copied, of 
writings and letters on Constitutional subjects, considerable selec- 
tions have also been made from his early correspondence, which 
may form a volume on the legislative proceedings of Virginia, 
and historical letters of the period from 17S0 up to the com- 
mencement of the new Government. His Congressional and 
Executive career may furnish two more. His writings ahv ly 
in print, as " Political Observations," a pamphlet in 1795, " Ex- 
aminations of the British Doctrine. 1 ' etc., it is thought should be 
embodied with his other works for more permanent preservation. 

It is important that these manuscripts should be prepared and 
committed to the press as early as they can follow the Debates, 
and th( success of the latter will much facilitate the publication 
of the former, even if Congress should decline a like patronage 
to them, a mode which would be much preferred. 

The near approach of the time which will call you to your 
Senatorial duties rendering it uncertain whether this would reach 
you ere your departure from home, I deem it safest to address it 
to Washington, whence I hope, on your safe arrival, you will 
favor me with an acknowledgment of its receipt and any sug- 
gestions your friendship may orTer. 

Accept for Mi y and yourself my affectionate respects. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 409 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, i ber 10, 1 
My dear ^ir, — I am gl id to learn by your favor of 15th inst. 
that Mrs. Brooke's health is improving, and sincerely hope that it 
may soon be entirely re-established. 

Your objection to an immediate organization of an Opposition, 
upon the principles stated by me, applies rather to the time of 
its commencement than the principles themselves. Undoubtedly, 
such an Opposition should avail itself of the errors of the new 
Administration : but it seems to me that it would acquire greater 
force by availing itself also of that fatal error in its origin, which 
resulted from the President-elect being the designated successor 
of the present incumbent. If a President may name his successor, 
and bring the whole machinery of the Government, including its 
one hundred thousand dependents, into the canvass ; and if by such 
means he achieves a victory, such a fatal precedent as this must 
be rebuked and reversed, or there is an end of the freedom of 
election. No one doubts that this has been done. And no re- 
flecting man can doubt that, having been once done, it will be 
again attempted, and unless corrected by the people, it will be- 
come, in time, the established practice of the country. Now, I 
think that no wisdom or benefit, in the measures of the new 
Administration, can compensate or atone for this vice in its origin. 
Still this point maybe pressed or not, according to circumstances, 
in different States. As for Virginia. I am afraid another genera- 
tion must arise before she regains her former high rank. Hence- 
forward, at least during our lives, I apprehend, she will be only 
a satelite of New York. 

I am obliged greatly to Mr. Pleasants for cherishing his friendly 
sentiments toward me, and request you to assure him that they 
are cordially reciprocated. Nothing of interest has occurred here 
since the burning of the General Post-office. I understand that 
the opinion is general among the inhabitants of the city that it 
was not accidental. 



SIR WILLIAM CLAY TO MR. CLAY. 

Fuewell Lodge, Twickenham, January 12, 1 
Dear Sir, — My friend and brother-in-law, Mr. Temple Bow- 
doin, tells me that he has the honor of your acquaintance, and 



410 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

that he 1ms mentioned to yon my name. I am tempted, in con- 
sequence, to take the liberty of sending yon a pamphlet I have 
recently published, which may not be wholly without interest 
to yon, as it relates to a question of great interest, as well in the 
United States as in England ; and as I have endeavored to avail 
myself of the ample experience which your legislative bodies 
have had the opportunities to acquire, I trust that, by accepting 
this trifling work, you will permit me to consider myself not 
wholly a stranger to one who has conferred such celebrity on 
the name I bear. It is, indeed, not wholly impossible that I 
may have some claim to the honor of your acquaintance beyond 
the mere similarity of name. My lineal ancestor was related to 
Perm. I am not quite clear that some one of our name did not 
accompany him ; but it is certain that at a somewhat later period 
(eighty or one hundred years since), a member of our family 
did settle in America, although his friends never had any record 
of his subsequent fortunes. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, February 10, 1S3 1 ?. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 8th, as I did the 
preceding one to which it refers, and which I postponed answer- 
ing until I had something worth communicating. There is in- 
deed some highly interesting occurrence here almost daily, but 
the papers generally notice it. You will have seen the letter of 
the President to the Committee of Investigation. Yesterday, a 
still more extraordinary one was presented to the Senate by Mr. 
Calhoun, in which the President, in the harshest and most offens- 
ive language animadverts upon a speech made by that Senator 
in the Senate. The majority was reminded that they alone pos- 
sessed the power to vindicate the privileges of the Senate against 
the Executive encroachments. But they all remained mute; 
not one venturing to offer any motion. Such is the degrada- 
tion to which Congress is reduced ! 

You congratulate me on my acceptance of the new appoint- 
ment recently conferred on me to the Senate. I think you 
ought to have condoled and sympathized with me, because, by 
the force of circumstances, I was constrained to remain in a body, 
in the humiliated condition in which the Senate now is. I shall 



OF HENRY CLAY. 411 

escape from it as soon as I decently eon, with the same pleasure 
that one would fly from a charnel-house. 

Mr. Webster retires positively, Mr. Ewing is ousted, and Leigh, 
and Clayton, and Man gum, and Porter, are gone What good 
can I do, what mischief avert, by remaining? 

I should be delighted to see you, but in the month of March 
the Cumberland route offers advantages so superior to any other, 
that I must follow it to Kentucky. Would to God it were for 
the last time ! 

Can you not come to Ashland from Lowifburg, when you 
are attending the Court there ? It is an affair of but two or three 
days, and we should be rejoiced to have you, and, Mrs. Brooke, 
too, if she would accompany you, under our roof. 

Do me the favor to make to her assurances of my affectionate 
regards, and believe me always and cordially your friend. 



CHANCELLOR KENT TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, February 20, 1837. 
My dear Sir, — I hope I shall not be deemed too obtrusive, but I 
can not refrain from declaring my admiration of the speech deliv- 
ered by you, in the Senate, in January last, on the expunging reso- 
lution, and which is published at large in "The National Intelli- 
gencer" of the 16th inst. My sympathies, and judgment, and con- 
fidence, and patriotism, and grief, and indignation, are with you 
in every point, and if I was in Washington, I would go directly 
up to you, and give your hand the hearty shake of sympathetic 
feeling. You have vindicated the resolution of 1834 with irre- 
sistible force, and damned the other to everlasting fame. If you, 
and such men as you, who are storming despotic and servile 
meanness in the Senatorial Hall, have no other recompense, it 
may possibly give you some consolation to be assured that you 
are receiving the silent admiration and gratitude of thousands, 
and by none with more hearty pulsation than by your most re- 
spectful and obedient servant. 



412 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 7, 1838. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor. This day the ex-Presi- 
dent left this city, and the President, for the first time, sent in a 
batch of nominations. Poinsett for the War Department ; Dallas 
for Russia; Heywood, of North Carolina, for Belgium, etc. The 
three mentioned were confirmed. Smith, of Alabama, and Ca- 
tron, of Tennessee, were nominated by Jackson for judges of 
the Supreme Court, under the new law. And what judges they 
will make ! They are not yet confirmed. Labranche, of Lou- 
isiana, was also nominated by Jackson, for Texas, and has been 
confirmed as Charge d' Affaires. 

You ask if I can communicate any consolation to you for the 
future, as to public affairs. I lament to say not much. Hopes 
are entertained, and with some probability, that there will be a 
majority in the House of Representatives at the next session, 
against the Administration ; and if there were more concert, and- 
a union as to the ultimate object, among the Opposition, there 
would be better prospects. I think there is a tendency to union 
among them, but it is not yet produced. Mr. Calhoun, now, as 
heretofore, stands in the way. 

The city has been filled with strangers. The crowd from 
New York has been as great as it was from Scotland, when 
James ascended the throne in England. 

My warmest regards to Mrs. Brooke. I hope to leave here on 
Thursday. 



MR. FOX TO MR. CLAY. 

Wasiu.ngiox, March 8, 1837. 
Dear Sir, — I have to draw upon England for some money, 
by the next packet, of the 16th. If you can make it conve- 
nient, consequently, to draw upon me a draft for the $1,1S0 
which I am in your debt, at ten days date from the present, I 
shall be much obliged to you to allow me to settle it in that 
way. If agreeable to you, the draft can be sent to me for ac- 
ceptance, at that date, before your departure ; or you can inform 
me in whose hands you leave it. My servant, the bearer of 
this, will wait for an answer, or call for one early in the morn- 
ing, as you may desire. 



OF EENTtY CLAY. 413 

I wish you a very happy journey, and am extremely glad to 
find that we arc to enjoy the pleasure of your society in W. h- 
ington during another session of Congress. 



HARRIET MARTIXEAU TO MR. CLAY. 

Wi , V;.\ 15, It 87, 

Dear Mr. Clay, — It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge, 
on behalf of many authors, besides myself, your exertions on the 
copyright business. I thought I was sure, both of what your 
convictions and your efforts would be ; and I r j ice that my 
confidence has been justified. We are exceedingly pleased with 
your Report, and have strong hope that our object may be at- 
tained next session. The American newspapers seem to show 
a more and more favorable disposition toward our claim, and 
some solid proofs have reached the hands of one, at least, of our 
authors (Professor Lyell), of the feeling which honorable Amer- 
ican publishers entertain of the injury we suffer. Several hun- 
dreds of copies of Lyell's fifth edition of his Geology, in four 
volumes, have been ordered from England by booksellers in 
Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and the money, in full, 
transmitted with the order. A highly creditable proceeding. It 
was transacted through Professor Silliman. 

Have you seen what my New York publishers (who are Eng- 
lish) have been doing to obviate mutilation of my book? We 
fear we must submit to be pirated, but the risk of mutilation is 
much lessened by the work being divided into parts. The book 
has been published here only four days. I have had little hope of 
pleasing any body in either country with my work. I might 
have done so by merely copying my journal, but I felt the oc- 
casion to be too serious a one to be trifled with, and I have, ac- 
cordingly, risked every thing by making an open avowal of 
principles which have no chance of being popular. I am very 
easy now the thing is done. My conscience is discharged, and 
I really do not care much what becomes of me in name and for- 
tune, while I can not live without freedom of speech. This 
last can never, now, be taken from me. 

Your new President seems to have succeeded in making him- 
self gloriously unpopular at the very outset. I do not believe 
in his power of retrieving himself. We shall see. I hope you 



414 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

will never have another President who will venture to declare, 
on entering upon office, that under no circumstances will he, on 
a particular point, assent to a constitutional act which may be- 
come the will of the nation. Enough of him. 

We are in a critical state, and the Tories may, very likely, 
have another short term of office. The weakness of the sove- 
reign, the incompleteness of the Reform Bill, and the difficulties 
thereby left in the way of the representation, are too much for 
the present ministry, even without the House of Lords, which 
we have pour combh tie maux. We do not fear breach of the 
peace, but much political struggle. We shall have your good 
wishes on the liberal side, though you do find our Tory ministers 
so very civil to the United States. 

I hope you are well, and in some good degree reconciled and 
content in mind. My mother and I are in the best health and 
spirits, and talking more, it seems to me, of my beloved Ameri- 
can friends than of all other persons in the world. 

With my kind respects to Mrs. Clay and Mr. Erwin, I am, 
dear sir, yours affectionately. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Ashland, May Z<S, 1S37. 
My beak James, — Just as I was making preparations for my 
trip to St. Louis, and had resolved to start in a few days, the 
proclamation of the President arrived, calling Congress on the 
first of September. T shall be obliged to leave home, to reach 
Washington in time, about the middle of August. Consequently 
I have only two months and a half to attend to my private af- 
fairs. If I were to go to St. Louis, and examine my lands in 
Missouri, as I wished, it would absorb one half of that time, and 
not leave me enough to attend to necessary matters here. I am 
compelled, therefore, to abandon my contemplated journey for 
the present. I assure you, my dear son, that I do it with great 
regret ; for I wanted much to see yon, and to see your place and 
the improvements you have made upon it. 

As I can not go to see you, you must come and see me. You 
will yourself judge of the most convenient time for you to leave 
home, and come here. By the first of July, I suppose your crop 
will be laid by, and the season of your Jack will be over ; and 



OF HENET CLAY. 415 

if yon can not come before then, yon will be able to leave home 
at that time. 

I wish yon to say to Major Graham, how much I regret not 
being able to see him at his residence, as I expected and intend- 
ed. I am sorry Cor it also on account of his suit, in which I 
wished to have rendered him any service in my power. But it 
is probable that, if his suit shall be heard at the time he expect- 
ed, he may be able to engage the services of Mr. Webster, who 
left here on yesterday on his way to Louisville, and thence to 
St. Louis, which place he will reach, I suppose, about the Gth 
of June. His wife and his daughter accompany him, and when 
they get there T wish you to call and see them. 

We have had a very dry spring, insomuch that I have never 
seen the grass so low. But two days ago the rain began, and 
we have had the most copious showers. Should the remainder 
of the season prove good, we shall be able, I trust, to make good 
crops. 

Henry's two mares from England have arrived, and both had 
colts, but he had the misfortune to lose one of them. He had 
also imported six cows ; two died on the passage, the other four 
arrived with four calves. I have given him nine hundred dol- 
lars for one of the cows and her calf. 

Should you want money to bring yon home, you must inform 
me, or if there be not time to inform me, draw upon me. 

The family are all well, and join with me in love to you. 



MR. CLAY TO A COMMITTEE OF GENTLEMEN IN NEW YORK. 

Ashland, August G, 1837. 

Gentlemen, — I duly received the letter which you did me the 
honor to address to me on the 20th ultimo, transmitting a copy 
of the proceedings adopted at preliminary meetings of a number 
of my friends in the city of New York, in relation to the next 
Presidential election. 

On the question of the propriety of agitating the public at 
this time by a discussion of that subject, I entirely concur in the 
opinion expressed by you, that it would be altogether premature. 
Six months have not yet elapsed since the termination of the last 
election, and more than three years and a half remain of the 
term which was then filled. The country is, moreover, suffer- 



416 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ing under a great calamity. Its currency and its business lie 
prostrate. All minds are absorbed by considerations relative to 
measures of immediate relief. At such a moment to disturb or 
distract the public attention, by introducing another exciting but 
remote topic, seems to me to be unwise. In expressing this sen- 
timent, it is far from my purpose to convey any reproach or cen- 
sure toward those who have taken a different view of the mat- 
ter. It is quite likely they have supposed, and may be right in 
supposing, that the only adequate remedy which can be found 
for the evils with which the country is now afflicted, will be a 
change of those" rulers by whose agency they have been pro- 
duced or continued. But the necessity of some earlier relief is 
so great, and the expediency of bringing to the consideration of 
it a spirit of moderation, forbearance, and conciliation, is so ob- 
vious, that I think we should first direct our exertions exclusively 
to this single object. We shall soon ascertain how far the Ad- 
ministration will co-operate with the country in the restoration 
of a sound state of things. 

To guard against misconception, I ought to add that too much 
delay as well as too much precipitation should be alike avoided, 
in arrangements connected with the next election of a Chief 
Magistrate of the Union. Precipitation would expose the disin- 
terestedness of our patriotism to unjust animadversion; protract- 
ed delay, to the danger of division and defeat. 

I also agree with you, gentlemen, entirely in thinking, in re- 
gard to a candidate for the Presidency, that some mode should 
be adopted of collecting the general sense of those who believe 
it important to the preservation of our liberties involved, the cor- 
rection of abuses, and a thorough reform in the Executive Ad- 
ministration, that there should be a change in the Chief Magis- 
tracy. And none better appears to me to have been suggested 
than that of a Northern Convention. This will not supersede 
the previous employment of all proper means to produce union, 
harmony and concentration. A resort to such means is recom- 
mended by their tendency to prevent those unpleasant collis- 
ions, in the choice of delegates to the Convention, which might 
leave, among the friends of the respective candidates, a state of 
feeling, unfavorable to that hearty co-operation in the final struggle 
which is so essential to success. 

Having said this much upon the general subject, allow me 
now to add a few words in relation to myself personally. You 



OF HENRY CLAY. 417 

are pleased to honor mc with your attachment and confidence, 

to appreciate highly my public services, and to desire to pli . 
me in tl ' hest station of the Government. I am profoundly 
grateful to yon, and to all those friends who cherish toward me 
similar sentiments. I think, however, that the question of the 
particular individual who should be selected to accomplish th< 
patriotic purposes which we have in view, although not unim- 
portant, is of subordinate consequence. It should not be alio- I 
to become the paramount object, nor to divide more, than is ab- 
solutely unavoidable, these who agree in the general principle. 

I have not, for several years, looked to the event cf my be- 
ing placed in the chair of Chief Magistrate, as one that was 
probable. My feelings and intentions have taken a different 
direction. While I am not insensible to the exalted honor of 
filling the highest office within the gift cf this great people, I 
have desired retirement from the cares of public life ; and al- 
though I have not been able fully to gratify this wish, I am in 
the enjoyment of comparative repose, and looking anxiously 
forward to more. I should be extremely unwilling, without 
very strong reasons, to be thrown into the turmoil cf a Presiden- 
tial canvass. Above all, I am most desirous not to seem, as I 
in truth am not, importunate for any public office whatever. If 
I were persuaded that a majority of my fellow-citizens desired 
to place me in their highest executive office, that sense of duty 
by which I have been ever guided would exact obedience to 
their will. Candor obliges mc, however, to sa] tl I I have not 
seen sufficient evidence that they entertai i i ire. 

Entertaining these feelings and sentiments, I think it best for 
the present to adhere to the pas ive position which I have pre- 
scribed to myself. Should a National C of our friends 
nominate any other person, he shall have my hearty wishes for 
success and my cordial support. And, before the assembling of 
such a Convention, if one should be agreed upon, there may be 
such indications of the public will as will enable us all clearly 
to trace the line of our duty toward oui . .1 country. 

Requesting, gentlemen, yon and all who attended the meet- 
ings, the proceedings of which you have had the goodness to 
forward to me, to accept my grateful acknowledgments, I am 
your friend and obedient servant. 

27 



118 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MR. CLAY TO G. D. PRENTICE. 

' bland, August 14, 1837. 

Dear Sir, — From numerous communications and circumstan- 
ces, I think it probable that, whatever may be my own inclina- 
tion or disposition, I shall be again forced into the Presidential 
arena. It is right that I should put you in possession of some of 
the information which has reached me. 

In the city of New York, notwithstanding, and subsequent to 
the movement there for Mr. Webster, my friends spontaneously 
resolved to organize. From all the Wards a committee of one 
hundred was formed, subdivided into other Committees of Cor- 
respondence, Finance, etc., and they tell me that they have 
ascertained that a decided majority of the Whigs prefer me in 
that city. The Committee has addressed me, and I have replied. 
Perhaps my reply may be published. I take the ground of en- 
tire passiveness ; that I do not wish my name used, unless there 
is reason to believe it is wanted by a majority of the country, etc. 

I send you inclosed some communications which I have re- 
ceived, which you will be pleased to return by Mr. Erwin : and 
if you do not wish to retain this letter (as I have kept no copy 
of it), be pleased to return that also. 

I still think of and hope that arrangements may be made to 
make it your interest to go to Washington. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS WIPE. 

White Sulphur Spedigs, August 27, 1837. 

My dear Wife, — We arrived here yesterday, having parted 
from Mr. Erwin at Guyandotte, he proceeding up the Ohio river, 
and we taking the land route by this place. I was concerned to 
learn from him that James became worse the day on which I left 
home, and it was necessary to call in a physician. He assured 
me, however, that although threatened with a severe fever, no 
danger was apprehended. I sincerely hope that this may prove 
to be the case, but as I shall feel very uneasy until I hear again 
from home, I wish he would write me to Washington as soon as 
you get this letter. 

I wrote you from Maysville, and in that letter I mentioned 
most of the things to which 1 d ' tes' ition in my 

absence. I forgot to mem ion that I wished the red cow with a 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 419 

white face (an old Hereford that was put up last winter to he 
killed) fattened for beef for the family, and any other of the old 
cows that he may think it well enough to kill. There is a 
little two year old al M im Geld (I believe she is an estray heifer 
with a black nose) that might 11 be slaughtered for early 

beef. 

We shall leave here on Wedi torning at furthest for 

"Washington. Dy that time I hope to recover from the fatigues 
oi' the journey. John looks very serious, hut has conducted him- 
self very well. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Wheeling, October 19, 1R37. 

Mr dear James, — I have reached this place on my return home 
from Congress, a good deal jaded and not very well. Prior to my 
de] arturc from Washington, I received your letter communicating 
the death of poor Russell, which gave me sincere concern. I 
have been quite uneasy about you, but hope that you have es- 
caped sickness. You ought to he very careful with yourself, 
for your Missouri fevers are very dangerous. 

I am sorry to hear of the great loss you have sustained in 
sheep ; and I am now convinced more than ever that it is un- 
wise for you to keep them, unless you have a number sufficient- 
ly large to pay the expense of a shepherd to keep constantly 
with them. Under these circumstances, I think you had better 
fatten what remain and sell them for mutton. 

I expect to remain at home until late in November, and then 
proceed again to Washington, although I am. very tired of so 
frecmently crossing the mountains. I wish you to write me often 
and let me know all that concerns you. I send this by the boat 
that carries me to Maysville. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

GLAND, Octo'ocr 34, 1807. 

My dear James, — I reached home on the 2M instant, and re- 
ceived your letter of the 17th. I found all well here, hut it is 
said to be very sickly at Louisville and at Frankfort, and we 
have been uneasy about you. I hope that you will escape being 



420 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

sick. I wrote you by the journey from Wheeling, and sent my 
letter by the steamboat. I advised you in that letter to sell your 
sheep, seeing that they arc not safe from the dogs and wolves. 
Unices you had a number sufficiently large to justify keeping 
a herdsman, it is useless to keep sheep. 

You tell me that land is still rising in Missouri. I wish you 
could sell, at a fair price, my small tract in Lincoln, and also the 
Alton tract, if you could get a good price for it. What could 
you sell your land for? But I suppose that nothing could induce 
you to sell it and return ro Kentucky. Mr. Smith tells me that 
Chaumiere, the residence of the late Colonel Meade, is in market 
at $40 per acre, which is very low as land has sold here. It is 
very good land, having, I understand, about four hundred acres 
in the tract. That would not be large enough without the pur- 
chase of some addition to it, which probably might be made. 
But if you are contented with your situation and prospects, you 
had better not think of purchasing it. 

We will try and have your cattle, etc., sent to you, as you de- 
sire. I am afraid that the river may be too low, although it is 
now raining. Thomas seems quite happy since his marriage. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Ashland, November 10, 1837. 
My dear James, — I was glad to find by your letter of the 29th 
ultimo, just received, that you were in good health and spirits, and 
your business prosperous. I started Orphan Boy, your cow, dog, 
and gun, on the 7th instant, for St. Louis via. Louisville and steam- 
boat, under the care of William Nelson White, a young man 
raised in this county, and recommended to me. He lost two 
days in the start by accident, as he says, and I sent Aaron to 
look after him and the cattle. Aaron has returned this evening 
and reports that he saw the man with the cattle safely across the 
bridge at Frankfort and going on well. So that I hope no 
further mishap will occur. I send you a copy of the receipt 
which Mr. White gave me, from which you will perceive that 
I advanced him $20, was to pay all expenses of himself and the 
cattle, and to allow him half a dollar per day as a compensation. 
The two days that he lost ought to be deducted from his account 
Although he started with the dog, he could not carry but left bim. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 421 

I have written to Mr. "Wm. Prather to advance the money for 
his freight, etc. He had charge of another calf which he was 
to leave between here and Louisville. 

I will make arrangements in a lew days to advance yon the 
3100 which you desire. 

I wrote yon, on my way home, and again after my return, 
and advised the sale of the sheep. 

I have been engaged all this week in getting in my corn. 
My hogs are sufficiently fat to kill when it is cold enough. Yes- 
terday my new overseer, Mr. Florea, came and entered on busi- 
ness to-day. 

Yonr mother had made up her mind to go witli me to Wash- 
ington, but has finally declined it. 

"We are all well, and she and the children send their love to 
yon. Mr. Erwin has not yet returned. 



BUI. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, December 18, 1837. 

My dear James, — I received, to-day, yonr favor of the 6th 
instant, but have not received yonr previous letter, to which you 
refer, in which you made an offer of the Alton land to Mr. Te- 
gert. I had, however, before I left home, submitted the matter 
of the sale of that land to you, and I shall be content with what- 
ever you may do, being sure that your intentions will be to do 
the best for us all. 

With respect, too, to your project of having wood cut from it 
for the supply of the consumption of St. Louis, I leave that af- 
fair to your judgment. If it be well attended to, I have no 
doubt that it may be rendered profitable ; but recollect that it 
will depend altogether upon the degree of attention paid to it. 
It will have the effect of repressing trespasses upon the land. 

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your heifers, but we must 
expect occasional losses, and increase our diligence to repair 
them. 

Your resolution to study, and to begin with history, is a good 
one, and I hope you will persevere in it. 

Gillie's Greece, with Plutarch's Live-; Gibbon's Rise and Fall 
of the Roman Empire; Tacitus; Hume, with the continuation; 
Russell's Modern Europe; Hallams' Middlt \ " 



422 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Charles V., Indies, etc.; Marshall's Life of Washington; Botta's 
History of the American Revolution. 

These books, and others, may be read with advantage ; and 
you should adopt some systematic course as to time, that is, to 
read so many hours out of the twenty-four. 

Give my respects to Major Graham. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 19, 1837. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 17th. Mr. Mad- 
ison's Journal is not yet ordered to be printed, and, without any 
such object in the delay, it may lead to the benefit of Mrs. Madi- 
son, by allowing the sale and diffusion of the European edition 
of the work. When printed by Congress, I will recollect your 
wish to obtain a copy. 

Ritchie has discovered a mare's nest in the fact that the 
Whigs arc making arrangements to establish a new paper here. 
They do not propose to establish it by resorting to the public 
crib, from which his and other papers are maintained, but by 
voluntary contributions, raised among an abused and betrayed 
people. There is no occasion to conceal ' the object. The 
Whigs mean to beat the Administration party, and the public 
press will be one of their instruments. The design is to estab- 
lish a new paper to espouse and advance the cause generally, 
without reference, at present, to any particular candidate. 

The committee charged with the business have under consid- 
eration the selection of suitable editors, etc. I mentioned, sev- 
eral days ago, to one of the committee, Mr. Blackford as one 
whose qualifications deserved attention. They will be, doubt- 
less, duly weighed ; but it will be best not to excite expectations, 
or to stimulate any direct application from him. I think very 
highly of his principles, and his ability. I have no doubt, how- 
ever, that whatever decision may be finally made will be the 
result of the best intentions. 

My best respects to Mrs. Brooke, and my hearty congratula- 
tions on your recent acquisition of a daughter. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 423 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington; January 7, 1838. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter of the 23 1 ultimo. 
You ci t hearing from me. I have written to you 

several times since I have been here, and would have written 
oftener, if I had had any thing to communicate. But my cor- 
respondence is very oppressive, and I find it impossible to keep 
up with it. You must not suppose that I feel any want of af- 
fection toward you. Far otherwise. You are constantly in 
my thoughts, and in my hopes. I feel that you must be very 
lonesome, and, regret to hear that you are not happy. You know, 
my dear son, that I feared you would not be, separated as you 
arc from all who love you, and that I reluctantly consented to 
your going to Missouri. I hope that you will endeavor to cul- 
tivate feelings of contentment, and I shall be most happy, on 
my return heme, if we can make any arrangement by which 
you can come back to Kentucky, and live in the midst of your 
friends. 

The account you give me of your affairs is encouraging, and 
the account of you which I receive from others also gives me 
high satisfaction. What I would especially guard you against, 
is, every species of dissipation ; and I own to you that I have 
feared your solitary condition might tempt you into it. But I 
sincerely hope that may not prove to be the case. 

I suppose your offer of the Alton land was declined. It is 
very important to protect it against trespasses, and I trust you 
will take care of that. In a former letter, I gave my assont to 
your having wood cut for the St. Louis market. 



MR. CLAY TO FR.YXCI3 BROOKE. 

Washington, January 13, 1S33. 
My dear Sir, — The arrcar which I am under in our corres- 
pondence, has proceeded from my ing nothing of inter- 
est to c ..icatc. and I need not tell you that my correspond- 
ence and public cngagemc:.' . that I am con- 

. . Lever I can. Even now I should 
not address you, but from my apprehension that you would 
misconstrue my silence. 



424 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

We have been engaged in the Senate, during the last eight or 
ten days, in the most unprofitable discussion that ever engrossed 
the attention of a deliberate body. It was upon five or six as 
abstract resolutions as a metaphysical mind can well devise. 
They are at 1 ;iosed of. Their professed object is slavery ; 

their real aim to advance the political interest of the mover, and 
to affect mine. I am greatly deceived if in both respects he 
has not signally failed. He was caught in his own trap. You 
will see the series of counter-resolutions which I offered. The 
two most important, after undergoing some modifications, with 
my assent, were adopted as substitutes for his. His Texas reso- 
lution was laid on the table yesterday, by a vote of thirty-five to 
nine. I think that when that subject comes up, I will turn the 
tables upon Mr. Calhoun, as much as I did on the affair of 
slavery. 

There is not, I think, the slightest ground of approaching war 
with Great Britain, on account of Canada. When the Presi- 
dent's Message was received, respecting the capture and des- 
truction of the Caroline, I thought it due to the occasion to rep- 
rehend in the strongest terms, the violation of our jurisdiction. 
My remarks are correctly published in " The National Intelligen- 
cer," and there only. " The Globe" habitually misreports me. 

Resolutions have been introduced in the Kentucky Legisla- 
ture, recommending me as the next President. Although I pre- 
sumed that something would be done at Frankfort, I anticipated 
nothing in this form, and I think it displays more zeal than 
discretion. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, January 2'2, 1838. 

My dear James, — I received your letter of the 1st inst., this 
day, and the perusal of it gave me much concern. I had pre- 
viously received from you a letter complaining of your solitary 
condition, and stating that you were not happy. I answered it, 
but as you do not acknowledge the receipt of my answer, I sup- 
pose it had not reached you. 

I desire most ardently, my dear son, your happiness, and that 
of every child I have. You know that I was not anxious for 
you to go to Missouri. The very circumstances which now ex- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 425 

ist, I anticipated. Bat you were confident, and I yielded. I 
have wished to see you happily married, under the hope that 
with a wife whom you loved, and the \ rospects of a family, you 
might he contented and happy. You tell mc that you have not 
the means to go into society, but you have not informed me 
what means you allude to. I have been very desirous that 
should go much more into society than you have done, and why 
have von not? Do you want clothes? The slightest intimation 
of your wishes to me, on that subject, would have commanded 
them. I have refused you nothing that yon have asked me. I 
have been, I own, exceedingly anxious that you should avoid all 
dissipation, but with that restriction, I have not cared how much 
society you enjoyed, or, rather, I have wished that you should 
see much of it. 

In my former letter, I expressed a wish that you would attend 
diligently to your business, make yourself as happy as you can, 
and upon my return home, I would see if we could not make 
some arrangement by which you should return to Kentucky. 

Of one thing you may be certain, that you will be happy no 
where, without constant employment. That is the great secret 
of human happiness. 

I should be very glad to have you near us. Have you another 
overseer ? You have never informed me. If you have, I do 
not see why you might not, at any time leave home for some 
weeks, go to Ashland, or make a visit to see our military lands, 
or to your uncle Porter. 

Of one thing you may be assured, my dear son, that I not 
only feel the deepest interest in your welfare and happiness, but 
that I am always willing to do any thing to promote it. I am 
the more concerned about you, because John has lately given 
me great pain, and I almost despair of him. When you reflect 
how much anxiety I have suffered on account of my sons, I am 
sure that you will be stimulated to persevere in a course of regu- 
larity and propriety. 

I have written to you frequently, but the mails are irregular. 
I received two or three days ago, your letter of November, 
transmitting a copy of that which you had addressed to your 
uncle Porter. 



42G PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Sesate Coambee, March 23, 1838. 

Mt dear Son, — I received your favor of the 1st inst. I have 
been a little unwell, and have been so much oppressed with bu- 
siness, correspondence, and company, that I have been obliged 
to engage a young friend to act for me as amanuensis, and he 
wrote the letter to which you refer upon my dictation. 

I return the inclosed certificate with my signature. I am 
perfectly satisfied with the disposition you have made of your 
cattle with Mr. Dorrey. I am sorry that the imported cow does 
not breed, and I must give you another after awhile. We will 
talk about the house which you wish to build, when I see you. 
But I still should be happy to have you back in Kentucky, if we 
can make some arrangement, as I hope we can, to that end. I 
have not yet procured the patent, but I hope to get it for your 
land to be issued in the name of Doctor Rogers. I have been 
looking out for a wife for you, but I suppose you will have to 
select for yourself. 

I hope, my dear son, that you will continue to cultivate a 
cheerful disposition, and go into society as often as you can. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Wasiiixgtox, April 1-1, 1S38. 

My dear Sir, — I should have written you more frequently 
but that I had nothing material to communicate, of which the 
papers would not inform you. I must add, too, that my labors, 
especially that of private correspondence, have greatly increased 
this session, from obvious causes. 

In regard to the Presidential question, every thing is going 
on as well as my most zealous friends could desire. Public 
opinion every where, even in Indiana and Ohio, is raj idly con- 
centrating as you could wish. The movement at Harrisburg 
for a separate nomination of General Harrison, is rebuked and 
discountenam 

The Whig members of Congress have had several consulta- 
tions, as to the time and place of a National Convention. Their 
inclination. I understand, is to Harrisburg, and to a period be- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 427 

twoen January and June of the next year. They will probably 
definitely settle the matter the next week. 

When do you return to St. Mien? I am very much jaded 
and fatigued, and have some thoughts of running somewhere 
for a few days. ! bly I may go to you, if I can be sure that 
I should meet only your family. 

Present my respects to Mrs. Brooke. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Senate Chamber, June 5, 1838. 

My dear Sir, — I am extremely sorry to hear of the loss of 
your servant. It is a serious misfortune, and not easily repaired, 
independent of the distress which such an event must necessarily 
occasion to every feeling heart. 

I can not understand from any inquiry which I have made 
here the exact value of your Military Land Warrant. Mr. Allen, 
the Senator, from Ohio, thinks it worth seventy-five cents per acre; 
but recommends an application to William Creighton, Jr. (who 
is a man of honor and a particular friend of mine), of Chillicothe, 
who resides in the heart of the county set apart for the army. 

If the bill making further appropriations for land scrip, now 
pending in the House of Representatives should pass, your war- 
rant will be worth much more, perhaps $1 20 cents per acre. 
Although I can not vote for the bill I think it very probable it 
will pass at this or another session, and you would probably do 
well not to part with it. 

I should be most happy to see you here, and why can't you 
come ? A few hours would put you in the Pennsylvania Avenue. 
If you visit us, come directly to Mrs. Hill's boarding-house, where 
I stay, and where you can be accommodated. It is nigh Gadsby's. 

Everything has passed off admirably at the Ohio Convention. 



GEORGE W. LAFAYETTE TO SIR. CLAY. 

Pah . 1- 6 ( ■ 338. 

Monsieur, — Celui qui an nom d ' ; Chan/ Lmencaines 
lies, fut, il y a trcize ans, le brillant interprete des sentin 

de la nation, pour l'heureux veteran liguoit taut 

de bontes. recevra j'en suis sur avec satisfaction, ct bicnveillance, 



4:28 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

des mains de la famille du General Lafayette, la collection de ses 
manuscrits. 

Qu'il me soit done permis, monsieur, de vous ofFrir ce souvenir 
d'un ami qui n'est plus, et de vous prier en meme terns, d'agreer 
Fhommage de ma reconnoissance, pour vos anciennes bontes pour 
moi. En memoire du pere que j'ai perdu, j'ose en reclamer 
encore aujourdhui la continuation. 

J'ai l'honneur d'etre, avec la plus haute consideration, mon- 
sieur, votre tres-obeissant et devoue serviteur. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Asiilaxd, August 28, 1838. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor from the White Sulphur 
Springs, and was gratified to learn that the President had been 
so attentive to you. He is alvmys courteous and civil in his 
manners. 

Mr. Rives' determination not to be a candidate for the Senate 
is wise. Should he adhere to it, some embarrassment will be 
avoided at your next Legislature. 

The elections of Kentucky and Indiana have eventuated 
successfully to the Whigs, without any diminution of their 
strength. I believe we have carried the election in Illinois, but 
it is not yet certainly ascertained. The Locofocos have carried 
that in Missouri, but by a greatly diminished majority. 

I have remained at home since the adjournment of Congress, 
as quiet as I could be, which is not very quiet, for company is 
constantly with me. This is a very bustling week in conse- 
quence of the session at Lexington of the Board of Directors of 
the Charleston and Cincinnati Railroad Company. They will 
get more soft words than hard money in Kentucky. 

Mrs. Clay unites with me in respectful compliments to Mrs. 
Brooke. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Asiilaxd, October 9, 1S38. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 27th lultimo, but 
I can hardly say that I had very great pleasure from its perusal ; 
for, upon my word, if you will excuse me for saying so, the pa- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 429 

per and the writing are so bad that I do not know that I have 
guessed its contents. 

As to the movement in the State of M chusetts you trill 
have, seen that it is alleged to have been without authority, and 
is retracted. If we succeed in the elections of Pennsylvania 
and New York, I attach no importance to that, or any similar 
movement, whether with or without authority. My impression 
is that the editor of " The Atlas" expressed sentiment:- which he 
Bupposed would he acceptable to Mr. Webster. 

Your suggestion as to a Bank of the United States would do 
well, if it would conciliate support from those who are opposed 
to such an institution ; but my impression is that it is to the 
thing, in any form, more than to a particular modification, that 
opposition exists. At present, however, it is useless to try to es- 
tablish any Bank of the United States with any modification 
whatever. It should not be attempted until the people clearly 
call for it. This I think they will do ; but if they do not, if 
they are opposed to it, I, for one, cheerfully acquiesce in the de- 
cision. 

We have been, and yet are, terribly afflicted with drought. It 
has injuriously affected our crops, but I presume not as much as 
yours have been. 

Mrs. Clay (whose health is now very good) joins me in respect- 
f j1 compliments to Mrs. Brooke. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, Xovemher 3, 1S38. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the ISth ultimo, and, 
as it informed me of your intention to go to Richmond, I ad- 
dress this letter to that city. You think I have too good an 
opinion of mankind. I confess that I have, throughout life, 
striven to think well of them, but the last thirteen years have 
shaken my faith very much. I yet. however, believe the mass 
to be honest, although very liable to deception. 

You are certainly right as to one of the two gentlemen men- 
tioned, perhaps as to both, being unwilling to see me elected 
Chief Magistrate. I was greatly surprised at the course of 
" The Atlas ; " and although Mr. Webster disavows its authority 
to speak for him, in that particular, there are intelligent persons 



430 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

near him who believe that " The Atlas " presumed upon his con- 
currence. The issue of the elections, this fall, so far, have been 
very unfavorable to the Whig cause. From September of last 
year to September of this, the current ran deep and strong in 
our favor, and swept over every State, changing majorities 
against us, or, at least, diminishing tltcm. All at once, and 
without any apparent cause, the current reverses its direction. 
What has produced it? To give you a proof that I am not too 
confiding, I can not forbear expressing my suspicion that a pro- 
fuse and corrupt use has been made of the public money. It is 
almost impossible otherwise to account satisfactorily for what 
we have witnessed. Amos Kendall was at Columbus the week 
before the election. How easy was it for him to give orders 
throughout the State, from that central point of Ohio, to carry 
the election at any cost. And how can he be brought to ac- 
count, if he has given such orders? 

Other circumstances will enable us to account for some of 
the results of these elections. In Ohio, the Abolitionists are al- 
leged to have gone against us, almost to a man. Senator Mor- 
ris, you know, is one of them, and that, put together with the 
unfortunate case of the Methodist preacher, delivered up by 
Governor Vance upon the demand of the Governor of Kentucky, 
turned them against us. Perhaps they were previously inclined 
toward Mr. Van Buren. 

If New York goes against us, as is to be apprehended after 
what has occurred, our cause will look bad. Yon will know 
the event by the time this letter reaches you. It is to be appre- 
hended, because, whether changes have been produced in other 
States by voluntary impulse of the people, or by corrupt means, 
the same cause, whatever it may be, is likely to exert itself in 
New York. 

The introduction of this new clement c( Abolition into our 
elections can not fail to excite, with all reflecting men, the deep- 
est solicitude. It is, I believe, the first time it has been done. 
Although their numbers are not very great, they arc sufficiently 
' numerous, in several States, to turn the scale. I have now be- 
fore me a letter from the Secretary of the American Anti-Slave- 
ry Society, in New York, in which he says: "I should consider 
(as in all candor I acknowledge I would) the election of any 
slav< h Lder to the Presidency a great calamity to the country." 

The danger is that the contagion may spread until it reaches 



OF UEXRY CLAY. 1Z1 

all the free States ; and if it c\ es to be acted on ns a rule 

among them, to proscribe : ! hey have the numl 

to enforce it. Union and concert with them will throw the 
wh< Ie G vernment into their hands, and when they have once 
possession, the principle by which they have acquired it will urge 
them on to other and further encroachments. 'They will begin 
by prohibiting the slave trade, as it is called, among the slave 
Stai and by abolishing it in the District of Columbia, and the 
end will be 

My own position, touching slavery, at the present time, is 
singular enough. The Abolitionists are denouncing me as a 
slaveholder, and slaveholders as an Abolitionist, while they both 
unite on Mr. Van Burcn. 

I should be extremely happy to visit Richmond and see you 
and the many other friends I have there, but I can not do it 
while I remain a quasi candidate for the Presidency. A candi- 
date in fact I can not say, and have not said to any human being 
I would be. I am strongly inclined to promulgate that I will not 
be, under any circumstances. How would it do ? The princi- 
pal objection which I perceive, is, that they would . say that I 
saw the grapes were sour. But then, what need I care for any 
thing they may say? 

Pray remember me affectionately to Leigb. I rejoice to be 
able to infer, from a recent letter of his, addressed to another 
person and sent for my perusal, that his health was fully re-es- 
tablished. Mrs. Clay unites with me in regards to Mrs. B. 



WILLIS HALL TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, December 14, 1S38. 
Dear Sir, — I rejoice to learn from the papers that you have 
arrived safe and in good health and cheerful spirits, in Washing- 
ton. The accident you met with on your journey gave us much 
concern. You might have said, perhaps, on the occasion as Cae- 
sar said to the boatman, " Quid I s ? Cccsarcm invehi .' " 
I believe most implicitly in your fortunes — indeed, the great 
source at once of my anxiety for your health and of my confi- 
dence in y crvation is the confirmed belief that our Union 
and the future happy destinies of our country arc bound up in 
your life. Yet the most devout believers do not disdain a little 



432 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

worldly prudence. Cromwell charged his soldiers to " Trust in 

Providence, but keep their powder dry ! ; ' [u the same spirit I 

would urge you to take care of yourself. Your country never 
stood in so great need of you. 



JIR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington - , December 20, 183S. 

My dear Sir, — I presume that this letter will find you quiet 
at St. Julicn. I should have written you before had I any thing 
interesting to communicate. To-day, on a call for information 
as to the relation between the Bank of the United States and the 
Treasury Department, Mr. Rives came out in a speech of re- 
markable vigor and decision, which showed conclusively that he 
had cut loose forever from the Administration. Of that I pre- 
viously entertained no doubt, and now I think the public can 
entertain none. On the subject of his re-election to the Senate, 
it would be highly improper for me to interfere, and I do not 
mean to interfere ; but I may to you say that those with whom 
I have conversed out of Virginia, think that it would be attended 
with very good effect. 

In consequence of the Anti-Masonic and other movements, 
since the last session of Congress, at the commencement of this 
my friends were a little discouraged. They are recovering 
from it, think that things look much better, and entertain confi- 
dence that public opinion, in regard to the next Presidency, will 
remain unchanged, as it was at the last session. 

My own opinion is that, with a view to arrest the unfortunate 
divisions which exist among us, to check the progress of intrig- . 
ues, and to secure concentration, action at Richmond, by the 
Whig portion of the Legislature (including, if possible, the Con- 
servatives) is highly expedient. Such a movement would prob- 
ably be followed and seconded at Albany ; and in that case, I 
think the question would be settled, and our future difficulties 
would afterward constantly decrease. In this opinion the most 
intelligent of our party, with whom I have conversed, fully con- 
cur. 

It is highly important, if any thing is done, that the Conserv- 
atives should unite at Richmond, or if they can not he prevailed 
upon to do so, that there should be as little division as possible 



OF HENRY CLAY. !•"••'■ 

among the Whigs. The Northern Conservatives, including Mr. 
Talmadge, remain firm and decided. And my information from 
New York generally is full of encouragement. The mock 
nomination of the Anti-Masons has fallen still-born, and has pro- 
duced no material effect even in the Anti-Masonic portion of the 
State. It appears that in the pretended Convention, there was 
not a delegate elected by a primary meeting whatever of the 
Anti-Masons; that except the Delegates from Pennsylvania 
(who were nominated at some previous Convention), not a mem- 
ber held his seat in virtue of any election whatever ; and that 
some member from New York assumed the power to cast the 
whole vote of that State ! 

Be pleased to present my best respects to Mrs. Brooke. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS TO MR. CLAY. 

Boston, December 24, 1838. 
My dear Sir. — I duly received your last favor with its inclos- 
ure, which is indeed a curiosity, which I will keep on file sub- 
ject to yolir order. I ventured to give the substance of it to a 
Senator of this State, the late Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong, 
a very worthy and orthodox gentleman who believes that origi- 
nal depravity comprehends political as well as what is more strictly 
moral, and accounts this as a mere variety among innumerable in- 
stances. Of late "The Atlas*' hasbeen silent on a certain topic, but 
whether this be preliminary to a new outbreak, a few days will 
determine. I can not yet find that the parties concerned in the 
project comprehend any persons hereabout, beyond a petit comi/ 
who are supposed to command the back stairs of that prt i s. But 
I suspect there must be others, and that there is some overt com- 
munion with '•' The American," etc., in New York. We shall see. 
Mr. Webster does not leave Boston, as I hear, until the meeting 
of the Legislature or about that time, January 1st. Whether he 
has any object in the delay, beyond his own convenience, I can 
not say. A rumor has prevailed of his intention to decline a re- 
election, but of this I have no convincing evidence. I think 
there is a disposition among the Whigs hen' to speak plainly, and 
as you would approve, on a certain subject. But until he une- 
quivocally withdraws from the canvass you can easily set 1 that 
they must feel uuder restraint. The most to be hoped prior lu 

28 



434 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

that event; is a declaration by the Legislature adhering to him 
as their first choice, and announcing yourself as the second. 
Some pains will be taken to affect this, and I must at present 
think with success. But neither my information nor influence 
•• hie that was attached to them, in "the days when 
I was young." I have also been housed for three week's with 
the '-'unpleasant pains which infest the toe," but I hope to be 
on my legs to-morrow, otherwise I can do nothing, unless, like 
poor Judge B., I drive into the public offices. You are aware of 
the disturbing causes which are every where at work to pollute 
the political current, and of the address with which antagonist 
causes are too often made to co-operate in the same result. Anti- 
ry I consider as effete in itself. There is no longer zeal 
among its votaries. The mission from this State was an abso- 
lute burlesque. Still it will furnish pretenses for paragraphs and 
cabals. I have more fear in regard of abolition. The danger 
is that the Whigs will identify themselves, at least in appearance, 
with the Abolitionists, and thus souse themselves into their toils. 
This will be folly and madness without excuse. So deeply im- 
pressed am I with an opinion of the extreme infatuation of this 
officiousness that I am reconciled to Atherton's resolutions, at 
the avowal of which some of my friends appear to be horrified ; 
but they forgive me as an old gentleman whose vagaries do no 
harm. By the by, I have been told that one of the "represent- 
atives" alluded to in H n's letter is Mr. C g, of this State, 

now in Congress. 

I began this merely as an acknowledgment of yours and have 
ramhled on. When any thing occurs that I think may be gratify- 
ing to know I will take leave to apprize you of it, and though at 
seventy-three I have little reason to calculate upon seeing you at 
the head of the nation, the hope of it is not among the least of 
my septuagenarian comforts. 

I am very faithfully and respectfully, dear sir, yours, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, December 20, 183S. 
My dear Sin. — I received your two favors of the 2 1th. What I 
maysayon tin Mr. Rives' re-el i must ! irded 

as expressed at your instance, and as presenting opinions which 



OF HENRY CLAY. 435 

prevail exterior to Virginia, without any intention on my part to 
interfere in a local i i in a State in which f am no at. 

Those out of your State are struck bytl I that a co-opera- 

tion between the Whigs and Conservatives will re a majority 
e Administration ; and that without it the majority may 
be her way. 

TIi bj ct, therefore, to he accomplished, if it b< icable, 

is to secure that majority co-operation ; and to those at a dis- 
tance Mr. Rives' re-election appears to be a probable means. 
If it be not ; if a hearty co-operation can not be produced by it; 
if nothing is to be gained but Mr. Rives himself, quite a difl 
ent view of the question would be entertained. Mr. Rives has 
himself no claim upon the Whigs but those which arise from his 
recent course ; and confining the question to him alone, his ex- 
punging vote and former course would more than neutralize his 
recent claims. But a more extended view should he taken of 
the matter. If he can be used as an instrument to acquire an 
accession of strength that would array Virginia against the Ad- 
ministration, the inquiry then would be, whether sound policy 
does not demand that we should sacrifice all feelings excited by 
a highb ionable vote, in consideration of a great object to 

be gained for the good of our country. I appreciate and l 
sensibly all the difficulties in making such a sacrifice, but I think 
that I could submit to it, if I had a reasonable certainty of that 
object being secured. 

It is manifest that, if we repel the advances of all the former 
members of the Jackson party to unite with us, under whatever 
name they may adopt, we must remain in a perpetual and hope- 
less minority. 

Should we not extend to the repentant in politics the same 
forgiveness which the Christian religion promises to the contrite, 
even in the eleventh hour? The difference between Mr. Rives 
and some others now incorporated in our party, is, that their watch- 
es did not run together. 

Already has some mischief been done in Ohio, and in other 
places, by a refusal of all conciliation of the Conservatives. It 
was obvious that their position was temporary, and could not lie 
maintained for any length of time. It was at a half-way houi 
They must therefore fall back into the ranks of their 
ciates, absorbed by us. And it seems to be a , 

opinion here to be .'-.-nt to avail the country of the services 



436 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of as many of them as we can get, either as allies or as a part of 
our consolidated force. I should add that it is feared, if he be 
not re-elected, the event will operate badly out of, as well as in 

Virginia. 

This is the view which is taken by those out of Virginia. Its 
basis is the bringing about a co-operation in that State between 
the Whigs and Conservatives by his re-election. If that can not 
be effected (and of that those on the spot are the best judges), 
why, then, there will be another state of the question. 

I transmit this hasty letter for your own eye only. I know 
how justly sensitive to all foreign intervention the people of Vir- 
ginia are, and I should not have touched on this delicate topic 
but upon your invitation. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 7, 1839. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favors of 29th ultimo and 5th 
instant. I regret extremely the existence of so much division of 
opinion in Virginia, respecting the election of a Senator, and 
sincerely hope that our friends may all become reconciled, and 
that what they may finally do may conduce to the success of 
our cause and the interest of our country. I have no individual 
wishes separate from the common good. What is best to be 
done at Richmond those alone can determine who there have a 
view of all circumstances. It is not, however, to be disguised, 
that what may be done will exercise an influence beyond the 
confines of the State. 

I have been struggling to-day, and some previous days, on the 
land subject. My friends are highly gratified with my exertions, 
and I hope and believe they have had some effect. Whether it 
will be practicable much longer to save that great interest de- 
pends upon the future course of the old States. I can not much 
longer defeat the combined action of the Administration and the 
new States. 

Mr. Calhoun, of our State, being on a visit of business at 
Richmond, I have given him a letter of introduction to you. He 
is intelligent, shrewd, and trustworthy. You may give him all 
confidence. 



OF HENRY CLAY. l-°»7 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS TO Mil. CLAY. 

Boston. January 11, 1889. 

My dear Sir, — Your friend Constans seems, for the present at 
least, to have blown his blast. I hope yon may have continued 
to think well of the last letters, as I confess that I jump in judg- 
ment with the writer. It is evident, I think, however, that he 
writes under restraint, and plays with an oblique stroke, but he 
should drive the two balls (" ebony and topaz") into the same 
pocket. 

I have conversed with a very respectable and intelligent mem- 
ber of the Massachusetts Senate, who, having taken some pains 
to sound opinions, reports to me that he can not find an indi- 
vidual who approves of the freak of " The Atlas." I know, also, 
that the editor of " The Courier," and I believe, that the editors 
of all the Whig papers here, are equally opposed to the doctrines 
of that journal. Still there is an under-current somewhere. Mr. 
W. has again disclaimed his privity to or approbation of " The 
Atlas" heresy, and said he thought it unlucky. 

But I am satisfied he does not wish that the Legislature should 
move on the line of operation pointed out by Constans — repeat- 
ing their quondam opinions. I can't say that he would advise to 
any action on the subject. Probably he thinks best to do nothing. 
I also apprehend that he thinks you did him ill offices by favor- 
ing H., at his expense, in 1836, and that you would still promote 
his (H.'s) interest next to your own. You will judge whether 
it is worth while to attempt, through friends, to have any Zclair- 
cissement on that point. I am also certain that he has no idea at 
present of saying nolo cpiscopari, though it seems unimaginable 
that he expects any important support. My opinions are not 
gathered from a personal interview with him, otherwise I would 
not feel at liberty to express them. I have met him but once 
since his return in summer. Nor do I violate any confidence in 
giving you these opinions ; but they are well founded. You 
can easily see that individuals, knowing this to be his way of 
thinking, may feel embarrassed in taking a step which, though 
not intended to be adverse to him, might he so construed : and 
that the consequence may be a suppression of further action by 
the Legislature. As yet, however, it is impossible to judge : but 
that any effort will be made to nominate H. I do not beli 
though it has been probably intended by the pi tit comitt. 



438 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Wednesday is assigned for choice of Senator. Mr. W. will 
be nominated at his own request, and will, doubtless, be chosen. 
Rumors were afloat of his intention to abdicate, and the Govern- 
ment was preparing to cut in. I am '•'confoundedly"' afraid lie 
will be cut out next year, and that this State will be lost. The 
disturbing causes are inauspicious. The last Legislature passed 
an absurd act prohibitory of sidling spirits in quantities less than 
fifteen gallons. Now petitions are presented for a repeal. I 
have been dragged into heading one, which is followed up with 
five thousand names ; though I have fought shy for many long 
years of all efforts to bring me out as an actor in the political 
scene, yet this strikes me as a monstrous abomination, and I 
yielded to urgent solicitations to become bell-wether. I still 
doubt the law will not be repealed ; and if not, it will be a fulcrum 
by which the Whig party will be capsized. The "rogues in 
spirit"' will combine with the " rogues in grain." 

Then, again, there will be abolition. Our people, I fear, will 
not be silent. It is clear that the efforts of the Administration 
are directed to the identifying Whiggism and Abolitionism, and 
the Whig -party has not sense enough to keep free from the coils 
of the black snake. Your old Ghent colleague, though a person 
of extraordinary talents, and, as I believe, of great merit as a 
private citizen, is, I think, a variety per se in the human family. 
But as my old friend (and General Washington's old friend). 
Mrs. Powel, of Philadelphia, used to say, when puzzled by any 
oddity or anomaly of character : " Why, my dear, you know God 
Almighty makes all sorts of men, women, and children." 

I have not shown H.'s letter since your last, nor shall I but 
With great discretion — perhaps not at all, but only state the sub- 
stance of the extract to two or three friends. 

I send you " The Atlas" of to-day ; it is triple brass. Think 
of tlii; extract of his letter to you in a parallel column — " Think 
of that Master Brooke." I doubt I could print them in a hand- 
bill, and clear one of Nick's bank shares. But I suppose you 
arc right in your forbearance, though my mouth waters for such 
a bo/i lx, u. 

I express no sentiments to you that I should hesitate to avow 
any where, time and place fitting, i not wish to be ' ; talked 

about;" and I know you will govern yourself accordingly. 



OF HENBT CLAY. 439 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOK!:. 

i \u: Chamber, January 18, IE 
My dear Sir, — I received your two favors of the IGth and 
17th inst. I am highly gratified with the prospects which exists 
at Richmond, o{ general concurrence among the Opposition, as 
to the Presidential election, whatever divisions may unhappily 
exist on another question. It is of very great importance that 
there should he some expression of the preference which is en- 
tertained in Virginia, and its influence elsewhere would be great, 
if not decisive. 

I lament exceedingly, the unfortunate divisions which prevail, 
in respect to the Senatorial elections. Is it possible that there 
is any danger of the election of a friend of the Administration? 
Is it possible that any Whig can prefer such a friend to a Con- 
servative ? 

By the by, Mr. Rives, in conversation with me, expressed sur- 
prise at your opposition to his re-election. He derived different 
impressions from his intercourse with you at the White Sulphur 
Springs. His surprise was not accompanied with any complaint, 
but on the contrary, with declarations of high regard, and per- 
sonal esteem for you. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

iate Chamber, January 28, 1839. 

AIy dear Sir, — I have received your several favors respecting 
the state of things at Richmond, in reference to your Senatorial 
election, and thank you for them. I did not acknowledge them 
severally as they arrived, because they did not seem to call for 
any particular observation from me. The divisions and dissen- 
sions in the Legislature at Richmond, are deeply to be deplored, 
and I fervently hope that means may be found to heal and 
harmonize. At Annapolis, they have just elected, or re-electi d, 
Mr. Merrick, and concord, it is thought, will be again restored. 

The spirits of my friends are again revived, and they think- 
that thi . in various quarters, indications of the final n 
which their partiality prompts them to desire. I believe ni_ 
that the current in my favor, which for the moment appeared to 
be impeded, will again burst forward, with accumulated strength. 



440 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

The movement which you suppose will take place at Richmond, 
"if made, would give great impulse to that current. 

Poor Mrs. Wickham, I see, is gone. Those who are falling 
around us, should remind us that we, erelong, must follow them, 
and their departure diminishes the motives of our remaining 
here. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, April 2, 1839. 

Mr dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 13th ult., 
and felt highly gratified with the favorable account of the state 
of public affairs in Virginia, which it communicates. I must, 
however, retort upon you a charge that is often made against me, 
that I fear you are too sanguine. There seems to be making a 
prodigious effort on the side of the Administration, and I see no 
evidence of corresponding or counteracting exertions on the 
other side. Their late Convention will strengthen them, be- 
cause it is an organization of their party, and the members will 
return to their respective homes, animated by the confidence 
and hopes inspired by their interchange of opinion and feeling. 
Where parties are nearly balanced, that which is disciplined, and 
in a state of complete organization, is almost sure to prevail over 
its adversary in the contest. I never was more perfectly con- 
vinced than I was in 1832, of the immense importance of a Con- 
vention, followed by a county and state organization. In the 
autumn of that year, just before the Presidential election, the 
young men held a Convention in Lexington. It was well at- 
tended — filled with the elite of the State. They made many 
stirring and eloquent speeches, published an address to the State, 
put it into complete organization, by the appointment in all the 
counties of large Committees of Vigilance and Correspondence, 
and returned home full of enthusiasm. The result was. Jackson 
was beaten by upward of seven thousand votes. If you could 
get a similar convention of young men at Charlottesville, or 
Staunton, just before the election, I believe that it would be at- 
tended with a similar result. 

By the by, is it possible that two of the judges of the Court 
of Appeals, attended and took part in the proceedings of the recent 
Convention, and that Judge Tucker presided ? If it be true, 1 
regard the fact as a strong mark of the degeneracy of the times. 



OF llKNltV CLAY. 441 

I have not enjoyed good health since my return home, from 
severe colds, but I am getting better, and we have the prospect of an 
early and fine spring. I found Mrs. Clay in her usual good health. 

Is it possible that there will be no arrangement between Messrs. 
Harvie and Botts ; and that they will both persevere, with the 
certainty of both being defeated ? In such a state of things, 
the merit is with the declining party, whatever it may be. 

In Kentucky, every thing looks fair. We may carry every 
Congressional district, and we may be defeated in three. I think 
not more. From Tennessee, too, from Mississippi and Louisi- 
ana, I receive the most favorable accounts. 

Do me the favor to present the warm regards of Mrs. Clay 
and myself to Mrs. Brooke. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL COMBS. 

MAYSvrLLE, July 4, 1839. 

My dear General, — Having heard here that H. E. Baron de 
Marechal. the Austrian Minister, has gone to Lexington, I have 
inclosed to him a letter of introduction to you, one to Major 
Tilford, and one to Mrs. Clay. I wish you would all contrive 
to make him feel agreeable and happy. He is plain, unaffected, 
and intelligent. 

Take him out to see Mrs. Clay, giving her some notice of his 
coming. And tell her to make up a little afternoon party for 
him, and give him some ice-creams, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL COMBS. 

"Washington, December 1, 1839. 
My dear Sir, — I transmit you inclosed a letter. I received 
that which you did me the favor to address to me from New 
York, and noted its contents. 

All eyes are now turned toward your proceedings at Harris- 
burg, which I hope may be such as to produce union, harmony, 
and success. 



442 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 



" MR. CLAY TO GENERAL COMBS. 

Washington, December 3, 1839. 

My dear Sir. — I have received and thank you for your sev- 
eral letters addressed to me from New York and Philadelphia. 

You have found a most extraordinary state of things in re- 
spect to the Convention at Harrisburg and General Scott. 

I understand it to be conceded, by the Delegates and Mem- 
bers of Congress from New York, a majority of whom have 
waited on the General, that eight or nine tenths of the Whigs 
of that State prefer me. Nevertheless they prefer to make a 
nomination in conformity to the wishes of the one or two 
tenths. 

Now »the question is, and it may be worked by the rule of 
three, whether it is easier to bring over eight or nine tenths to 
one or two tenths, or one or two tenths to eight or nine? wheth- 
er the majority (and such a majority !) can be easier drawn to 
the minority, or the minority, small as it is, to the majority ? 

What security is there that if a nomination is made, contrary 
to the wishes of a large majority, there is not danger of a loss, 
out of that majority, greater in extent than the one or two tenths 
who are only to be conciliated ? 

But 1 will not pursue this matter. The considerations must 
all be obvious to you. 



CHAPTER XI. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1840, '41, '42, AND '43. 

C. HAMMOND TO MB. CLAY. 

■rxx.vn, January 21, 1810. 

Dear Clay, — Ever since the determination of the Harrisburg 
Convention was known, I have been watching for a little abate- 
ment of decrepitude, that I might address yon a letter of con- 
gratulation, in my own hand. I have now attempted it. 

I do think that yon have great reason to be thankful that the 
burden of being a candidate for the Presidency was not put i:pon 
yon. In my view the canvass was always full of degradation, 
and I think that now-a-days its humiliation is greatly increased. 
Since the categories of Sherrod "Williams set the precedent, 
every one claims to question the candidate of his life, opinions, 
and general conduct. An indecent impudence marks the move- 
ments of his friends ; the foulest and often most painful imputa- 
tions characterize the assaults of opponents. A man has to give 
up his own self-respect, or every hour give offense to some peda- 
gogue that stands over him with uplifted rod. From such a 
condition I would ask that all high-minded men may be deliv- 
ered, and I would earnestly condole with every friend made 
subject to it by the imperious call of the country. And, after 
all, what is the station when attained? .lust that in which no 
upright, independent man can feel himself at ease, or hold his 
own assurance that he makes his own opinions the basis of his 
public acts. I pray you take no exception to an instance I shall 
cite. 

J. Q. Adams, in November last, wrote a strong letter on the 
Amistad case. How widely does it vary, in its positions of pub- 
lic law, from those urged upon the British Government by the 
Department of State, respecting slaves escaping to Canada, when 



444 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Mr. Adams was President of the United States ! Thus must the 
man be lost in the office. At best, it requires a good scribe and 
an easily controlled docility. 

The place you now hold has ever appeared of the highest 
honor to me, when held as you hold it, in ample confidence with 
your constituents. A Senator is the adviser and the trier of the 
President ; a Senator, thoroughly informed of public affairs, en- 
dowed with high powers of elocution, braced with nerve for 
every exigency, possessed of a competent estate, and deep in the 
confidence of his State, is just the man I could once have so far 
envied as to wish that what he had in enjoyment could be some 
day within my reach. 

I congratulate you and the country that you are a Senator, 
and I hope you will not lightly give up the place. Every thing 
we see or hear, or attempt to understand, points to approaching 
exigences, in which the country must call you to the rescue. 



MR. CLAY TO A COMMITTEE. 

Washington-, March 26, 1SI0. 

Gentlemen, — I have received your letter inviting me to de- 
liver an address at a celebration of the raising of the seige of 
Fort Meiggs, proposed the 11th of June, 1840. Considering the 
highly respectable source whence the proposal of this celebra- 
tion originated, the motive of it, and the friendly terms in 
which you have conveyed the invitation, it would afford me 
much satisfaction to be able to accept it ; but, if my public du- 
ties do not, at that time, require my attendance here, 1 shall have 
just reached my home, after an absence of six months. I can 
not, therefore, contract the engagement which you invite me to 
make, and must leave to some other person the gratification of 
addressing our fellow-citizens on the occasion in contemplation. 



MR. FOX (BRITISH MINISTER) TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, .inly 11, lsio. 
Dear Sir, — I believe it will be more correct that I should 
wait to see what Congress will do, before I give away any of 



OF HENRY CLAY. 445 

the copies sent to me of the British Commissioner's Report. I 
shall then. I hope, be able to send it to yon, either by Mr. Crit- 
tenden, or some other of your friends in Congress who may he 
returning at the close of the session to your State, and whom 
I can request to take charge of it. 

I inclose the draft accepted at thirty days, which I will pro- 
vide duly for the settlement of at the office of the United Stat* 9 
Bank here. With high respect, yours very faithfully. 



JUDGE (HENRY) BALDWIN TO MR. CLAY. 

1840. 

My dear Sir, — I have this moment come from Bamford's 
through the rain. The first thing I read was a paper contain- 
ing your remarks on Gallatin's pamphlet. It is, in the language 
of Scripture, health to my soul, and marrow to my bones. It is, 
as we say in Pennsylvania of apple-toddy — meat, drink, wash- 
ing, and lodging. Here is a token from one who always 
respected you as his old speaker, and schoolmaster in politics, 
elections, and candidates — non obstanti — and who in times of 
the highest excitement, never said of you as a statesman, a 
harsher thing than is in the pamphlet he put into your hands. 

(Any thing connected with the pending election, to the con- 
trary notwithstanding, which has nothing to do with the per- 
sonal accounts of H. B. and H. C.) 

Here is a drop of the honest stuff — genuine Pennsylvania, 
the true extract, the essence of the American system, the pro- 
duce of the same soil which gave us birth, and whence we de- 
rive our bread. It will suit an American palate, and raise no 
conscientious, constitutional scruples in an American stomach. 
Take a drop of it to my health in memory of Auld Lang Syne. 

This Florida case is a tough one. I shall have three or four 
evenings of leisure. When you, Creighton, Vance, and Ewing 
are disposed to bury old grudges, let me know it. Mrs. Bamford 
has a small moiety of the self same, and you will all be as wel- 
come as the flowers of May. 

This is for your eye and those named, but for no others. 



416 PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



GENERAL HARRISON TO JER. CLAY. 

North Bend, November 13, 1S40. 

My dear Sir, — I shall set out for Louisville, in the mail boat, 
to-morrow. I have written to Mr. C. Wickliffe (with whom 1 
have the business which takes me to Kentucky), to meet me in 
Frankfort (having understood that he has removed to Bards- 
town). 

Since my letter to you, I have thought that our personal 
meeting might give rise to speculations, and even jealousies, 
which it might be well to avoid ; for, although I have made up 
my mind to disregard things of that sort when they are una- 
voidable, yet, as all the objects to be answered by our seeing 
each other might be accomplished through a mutual friend or 
friends, I submit to you whether it would not be better to adopt 
this mode of communication. If you think so, I request you to 
name to me the friend, as heretofore, to whom I may communi- 
cate my views upon a certain important action of mine, and re- 
ceive yours in return. Upon the subject to which I allude, I 
assure you I have had no sort of communication with any one, 
unless it be important suggestions by unknown individuals (with 
but one exception. I refer to two letters written by a man whom 
I know, suggesting a general principle). I inclose this to Mr. 
Crittenden. I shall stay but one day in Louisville, if I can get 
away. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington-, December 8, 1840. 

My dear Sir, — I arrived here safely the day before yesterday. 
Prior to my departure from home, I received your favor addressed 
to me there, as I now have that of the Gth, addressed to me 
here. I deeply regretted the loss of the Virginia vote, but pre- 
sumed it was the result of fraud, and other causes. We are 1 
ing with great interest to the course of your Legislature. The 
want of a quorum in the Senate has prevented the reception of 
the President's Message. We shall get it to-day or to-morrow. 

I left General Harrison at Lexington, and 1 have seen and 
conversed a good deal with him. He is much broken, but his 
mind retains all its :th and vigor. lie appears to be anima- 



OF HENRY CULT. 4 17 

tod by the best dispositions, and if lie acts in conformity to 
them, our hopes will be all realized. I communicated to him 
that, during the short time I e: It in in public life, 1 

had nod to change my position in the S " pro- 

and T have no doubl now enl itiments of warm 

regard and attachment to me. T do not believe that he had then 
made up his mind as to the mi 1 Cabinet. I think it 

probable, although he did not say so, that he will invito Critten- 
den and Ewing to take places in it. B ! that I will not 
venture oven a conjecture. I thought it right i lain frankly 
to him my feelings and relations toward Mr. W ' ' r, and I 
stated to him that, although my confidence in that gentleman 
had been somewhat shaken, (hiring the last eight years, I did 
not see how any Whig President could overlook him ; that if I 
had been elected, I should have felt myself constrained to offer 
him some distinguished station; and that if he chose to appoint 
him to office, it would not diminish the interest I felt in the 
success of his Administration, nor my zeal in its support, if it 
• conducted in the principles I hoped it would he. I added 
an expression of my opinion that he was not suited to the office 
of Secretary of the Treasury, which I had understood some of 
his friends wished him to fill. 

The General is to he here in a few weeks, to go to Virginia, 
and to return about the 4th of March. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 7. IS 11. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 5th. I should 
have written to you before but T really had nothing to write. I 
am sorry that mere rumors about the composition of the Cabinet 
should fill any Virginia Whig with apprehension of the Spring 
elections. I venture to say thai Gen. Harrison will have a better 
met, and less of lism in it than even Jackson or Van 

Buren had. What more is wanted? Arc not some of our 
friend » nervous? Mr. Webster, I suj aber 

of it : but among all the resl talk ' of no F ' ilist. 

" The Enquirer" calls Mr. Crittenden most untruly F l< Mist. 



448 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

So it does me. Bat I hope that Virginia will no longer be af- 
fected by the slang of " The Enquirer." 

The exact time is not known when General Harrison will be 
here. It is conjectured that it will be from the 15th to the 25th 
instant. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Saratoga Springs, January 28, 1841. 
Dear Sir, — I was met, on my arrival here, by a confidential 
communication, through my nephew, the Speaker, from Mr. 
Weed, who expressed some delicacy about broaching the sub- 
ject of it to me personally, but hoped and intended to have a 
conference with me (as he had) before I left Albany. The sub- 
ject was the contemplated appointment of Mr. Curtis as Collect- 
or of the Customs in New York, and the following was the 
purport of the communication. 

That the Governor and his friends are extremely anxious for 
the appointment of Mr. Curtis, who, although not personally 
popular, is represented as possessing an extraordinary share of 
tact or stratagem; and as being able, by his skill in planning 
and combining, and his untiring industry in executing, to pro- 
duce the most astonishing political results. That, with the office 
of Collector (which he considers as second only in influence to 
that of Postmaster-General) he could, on all important occasions, 
command the vote of the city of New York, and, par conse- 
quence, of the State. That he is the intimate friend of Mr. 
'Webster, and possesses such influence over him as to be able to 
direct all his important political movements, an instance of which 
was shown in his withdrawing Mr. Webster's name from the list 
of Presidential candidates without his knowledge or consultation 
with him, because he was fully satisfied that Mr. Webster could 
not then, as he now is, that he never can be elected to that office ; 
and (although it might be disheartening and injurious to tell him 
so at this time) that he must not and will not be a candidate for 
the next term. That he (Mr. Curtis) has great respect for your 
political character, and opposed your nomination only because 
he was convinced that if you had been nominated you could not 
have been elected ; that, your position being altered, you are 
now the only prominent candidate of the Whig party for the 
next term, and can not fail of success, unless some most unex- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 440 

pec ted event should interpose to preveni it. That he (Curtis) is 
so strongly fortified in his application for the Collectbrship, that 
he thinks nothing can defeal it. Although he would feel much 
gratification in having your good wishes, and finally, thai th< , 
(Mr. Weed and the Governor) had offered these suggestions to 
me under the helicf that I enjoyed your confidence ; and with 
the hope that your views in regard to Mr. Curtis may accord with 
those above expressed. 

My reply to Mr. Weed was. in substance, that I knew hut 
little of what was passing at the seat of Government, and was 
ignorant of your views, and more so of those of General Harri- 
son, on the subject of the principal official appointments ; that I 
knew, as indeed your recent movements had proved, that you 
were extremely anxious to retire from the turmoil of politics, and 
have as little to do with the operations of the Government as 
would be consistent with your duties as a citizen ; but that, at 
the same time, it was characteristic of you not to withhold your 
opinions, if they should be asked, on subjects involving the in- 
terests of the country. I told him too, that I thought it would 
be presuming too much to expect you to interfere in behalf of 
Mr. Curtis, with a full knowledge, which you must be presumed 
to possess, of the industry and zeal he had displayed in defeating 
your nomination, and that too in a total disregard of the known 
wishes of a large majority of the Whigs of this State. Still, 
however, that it was proper you should know what were the 
opinions of the Governor and his friends, in relation to Mr. Cur- 
tis, and that I would mention the subject in my next letter to 
you. 

Now I do not doubt that Mr. Curtis is a man of rare address 
and management ; nor that he wields the power over Mr. Web- 
ster's volitions that is claimed for him ; nor that he will exert that 
power, and probably with success, in preventing his (Mr. Web- 
ster's) being a candidate at the next election : nor that it is his 
present wish and intention (especially if you should favor his 
views) to support you. And I have as little doubt that if he 
succeeds in obtaining the office, its patronage will be disposed in 
favors to his particular political friends. 

On the preceding facts, which I thought it my duty to com- 
municate to you, I shall expo ss no opinion, for surely no one is 
better able than yourself to weigh and decide on the various 
considerations which grow out of them. 

•29 



450 PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

As I believe I have given you quite matter enough for one 
dispatch, I will stop here at the end of my sheet, and probably 
write you again, some few days hence, from Albany. 

I am, as always, with great respect and regard, your obedien* 
servant. 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Niagara Falls, February 20, 1841. 

Dear Sir, — I have received your favor of the 7th instam, 
and am not surprised at the feeling it manifests in regard to the 
conduct of the gentleman in New York, who has ventured to 
put forth such bold views and opinions in relation to his friend. 
Mr. Webster, nor at the wish you express that this conduct 
should be made known to the latter gentleman. 

But I feel that I can not, and ought not, to consent to have 
such communication made by or through me, for various reasons, 
one of which, and that decisive, is, that the matters mentioned 
in my letter were imparted to me in strict confidence, and under 
such injunctions of secresy as would forbid their going abroad, 
most especially in that particular direction. Another reason is, 
that, although I had a conversation with Mr. Weed, predicated 
entirely on the facts communicated by him through my nephew, 
I can not now be positive whether the whole of these facts were 
distinctly stated by both, or by one, and which of them, only. 

As you may not have correctly understood that part of my 
pephew's communication, I will now state it a little more at large. 

Mr; Curtis was made to say that Mr. Webster was a great 
bilious man; that his affections had been long set upon 
the Presidency ; that he had recently been quite unfortunate in 
his private pecuniary speculations, and repeated disappointments 
in these had already given a dyspeptic or hypochondriacal hue 
to his mind and feelings ; and that his friends were afraid that he 
might fall into the indulgence of habits which such a state of de- 
spondency is too liable to produce, and would prove ruinous to him ; 
that it was, therefore, incumbent on them to treat him with 
great delicacy, and rather to encourage than to thwart him in 
his ambitious aspirations; and that it was under such views of 
Mr. Webster's situation that Mr. Curtis thought it inexpedient 
to disclose to him. at present, his real opinion in regard to Mr. 
Webster's future prospects for the Presidency. 



OF ITEXRY CLAY. 451 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

V . ington, February 5, 18-11. 

My dear Sir, — I receivi 1 your two favors. During the 

twelve last years T have recommended no person for any place 
whatever, to the appointing power of the Federal Government. 
All that I could do, therefore, to promote your wish* s as to Dr. 
Berkly, was to urge Mr. Roane to exert himself, which I believe 
he has done most faithfully ; but I am sorry to he obliged to 
inform you that it has been unavailingly. He this moment in- 
formed me that the appointment has been given to a Mr. Brooks. 

I have been constrained, after a full consideration, and on a 
deliberate survey of the whole ground, to adopt the principle of 
non-interference with the new Administration, as to official ap- 
pointments. Without it, if the day had a duration of forty- 
eight hours instead of twenty-four, I should be unable to attend 
to the applications I receive. 

We have nothing new here which the papers do not commu- 
nicate. There has been a little, not much, diversity of opinion 
as to an extra session ; but opinions are settling down as to its 
necessity. 

General Harrison probably will get to Baltimore to-night. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, March 12, 1841. 

My dear Sir, — You complain of my arrearage in our mutual 
correspondence, and with, at least, apparent cause ; but I have 
never passed a winter of so much pressure as the one which 
has just terminated, if indeed it can be said to have terminated. 
The painful alternative was presented to me of a neglect of my pri- 
vate correspondence, or of my public duties. I could not hesitate 
which branch of it to adopt. I have not been able to transmit an 
answer to one out of every hundred letters that I have received. 

.Moreover, I have had but little of interest to communicate of 
which the papers did not inform you. 

The new Senate has opened with a decided, practical, and 
available majority of twenty-nine to twenty-two, there b- 
one vacancy from Tennessee. That majority, I think, may be 



452 PBIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

relied on in almost all of the measures of the new Administra- 
tion. 

The Senate will adjourn on Monday. The appointments 
made are, almost exclusively, to fill existing vacancies. General 
Payton has received that of Post-master at Richmond. 

I pray you to present my affectionate regards to Mrs. Brooke. 



P. B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

Niagara Falls, February 20, 1841. 

Dear Sir, — I wrote you from Albany, a few days since, on 
the subject of a National Bank, to be owned by the several 
States in their corporate capacities ; the capital to be raised on 
a pledge by each State of its interest, or the proceeds of it. in 
the national domain, guaranteed by the credit of the general 
Government, which would at once insure the realization of any 
desired amount ; the power of organizing and directing the 
operations of the institution to be divided between and exercised 
by the general Government and the several States, upon the 
great principle of separate and yet combined and harmonious 
powers now exercised in relation to other great interests. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL HARRISON. 

Washington, March 15, 1S41. 

My dear Sir, — Your incessant engagements preclude the 
probability of my having any opportunity of a private conversa- 
tion with you, prior to my departure from this city. I therefore 
adopt this mode of saying a few words before I go. 

I was mortified by the suggestion you made to me on Satur- 
day, that I had been represented as dictating to you, or to the 
new Administration — mortified, because it is unfounded in fact, 
and because there is danger of the fears, that I intimated to you 
at Frankfort, of my enemies poisoning your mind toward me. 

In what, in truth; can they allege a dictation, or even inter- 
ference, on my part ? In the formation of your Cabinet ? You 



OF HENRY CLAY. 453 

can contradict them. In the administration of the public pat- 
ronage ? The whole Cabinet as well as yourself can say that. 
1 have recommended nobody for any office. I have sought none 
for myself, or my friends. I desire none. A thousand times 
have my feelings been wounded, by communicating to those 
who have applied to me, that I am obliged to abstain inflexibly 
from all interference in official appointments. 

I learned to-day, with infinite surprise, that I had been repre- 
sented as saying that Mr. Curtis should not be appointed Collec- 
tor of New York. It is utterly unfounded. I never uttered 
such expressions in relation to that or any other oflice, of the 
humblest grade, within your gift. I have never gone beyond 
expressing the opinion that he is faithless and perfidious, and, in 
my judgment, unworthy of the place. It is one of the artifices 
by which he expects to succeed. 

If to express freely my opinion, as a citizen and as a Senator, 
in regard to public matters, be dictation, thfcn I have dictated, 
and not otherwise. There is but one alternative which I could 
embrace, to prevent the exercise of this common right of free- 
dom of opinion, and that is retirement to private life. That I 
am most desirous of, and if I do not promptly indulge the feel- 
ing, it is because I entertain the hope — perhaps vain hope — that 
by remaining a little longer in the Senate, I may possibly render 
some service to a country to whose interests my life has been 
dedicated. 

I do not wish to trouble you with answering this note. I 
could not reconcile it to my feelings to abstain from writing it. 
Your heart, in which I have the greatest confidence, will justly 
appreciate the motives of, whatever others may say or insinuate, 
your true and faithful friend. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

eland, May 14, 1841. 
My dear Sir. — I have received your favor of the Gth instant. 
My health, or perhaps I should rather say, my strength is not 

fully re-established, nor do I expect it until warm weather, if 
that should ever again come. 

I leave home for Washington on the 20th instant. I expect 
to go by Wheeling, and without Mrs. Clay. 



454 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I repair to my post in the Senate with strong hopes, not, how- 
ever, unmixed with fears. If the Executive will cordially co- 
operate in carrying out the Whig measures, all will ho well. 
Otherwise every thing is at hazard. The Western elections, as 
far as I have yet heard, have terminated favorably. 

Mrs. Clay joins me in warm regards to Mrs. Brooke. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, July 4, 1841. 

My dear Sir, — I thank you for your kind suggestions as to 
the hest mode of preserving my health. The attack last March 
in Baltimore was more severe than I was aware of at the time ; 
but, thank God, my health now, notwithstanding all my labors, 
is better than it was. when I came here. This I attribute to the 
exercise which I take every morning, and to the perfectly regu- 
lar life which I lead. 

It is very uncertain when Congress will adjourn. I begin 
now to fear that it will not be until September. I shall probably 
return by the route of the White Sulphur, but of that there is 
no certainty. 

Mr. Tyler's opinions about a Bank are giving us great 
trouble. Indeed, they not only threaten a defeat on that meas- 
ure, but endanger the permanency, and the ascendency of the 
Whig cause. Is it not deplorable that such a cause should be 
put in jeopardy in such a way ? He conciliates nobody by his 
particular notions. The Locos are more opposed to the scheme 
than to an old fashioned Bank, and ninety-nine out of a hun- 
dred of the Whigs are decidedly adverse to it. 



COL. W. HAMPTON TO MR. CLAY. 

Millwood, August 20, 18-11. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor of the 11th instant did not reach 
me until last evening; inclosed you will receive my acceptance 
of the bill of exchange you sent me, which I have stipulated 
to pay, at Messrs. Goodhue & Co., my agents in New York. 

You will, I hope, decide upon taking Sovereign. He will, I 



OF HENRY (LAV. 455 

think, suit your countrymcu, better than Monarch, being much 
more showy, and is also a horse, in a very high form. 

We are anxiously expecting to hear the fate of the Bank bill. 
Should the President return it with his veto, I for one, shall 
d , air f< c the Republic ; if our friends betray us, what can we 
expect from our opponents? 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Ashland, October 28, 1841. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 21st, to-day, from 
which I infer your good health, as I think I recognize in its tone, 
your buoyant spirits. Without ever having been laid up, I 
have not been always well since my return from Washington. 
I have worked too hard, and want rest. This feeling Has given 
rise to a serious question which 1 have now under consideration, 
and that is, whether I shall not resign my seat in the Senate. 
If I should return, it will be with the hope of getting away be- 
fore the close of the session ; and with a resolution to take a 
less active part in the public business. 

You inquire what will be done with the Government Land 
Warrants. I believe I have expressed my opinion to you here- 
tofore, fully about them ; but, without being able to specify the 
time when they shall be passed on by Congress, I should not be 
surprised if they are ultimately provided for. 

So Mr. G. says we arc to have no fiscal agent! That is what 
I have expected. Having rejected a National Bank, the State 
Banks, and the Sub-Treasury, I could not conceive what other 
project of an agent even Mr. Tyler's ingenuity could present. 

The issue of the elections this fall, however much to be re- 
gretted, perhaps ought not to surprise us. ' An army which be- 
lieves itself betrayed by its commander-in-chief, will never fight 
w 11 under him, or while he remains in authority. Our defeats 
have not been produced by any accession of strength to our ad- 
versaries, but simply because our friends would not go to the 
polls. I think they were wrong, but their conduct was natural. 



456 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

Washington, January 27, 1842. 
My dear Sir, — I have my old apology for not writing to you. 
which I have to submit to your kindness, to which I must add 
that I have not been very well, and really nothing of interest to 
write. 

I was glad to learn that you had it in your power to accept 
the office of President of the Court of Appeals, and that you 
were right to decline it. As we advance in years, our labors 
ought to lighten. With the view to lessen mine, and in con- 
templation of the unhappy and disturbed state of our public 
councils, arising out of the course of Mr. Tyler, I mean to re- 
sign my seat in the Senate, during this session. I want rest, 
and my private affairs want attention. Nevertheless, I would 
make any personal sacrifice, if, by remaining here, I could do 
any good, but my belief is I can effect nothing, and perhaps my 
absence may remove an obstacle to something being done by 
others. I shall therefore go home in the spring. 

The papers will inform you of the afflicting scenes passing in 
the House of Representatives. They will fill every patriot 
bosom with deep distress. 



RICHARD RUSH TO MR. CLAY. 

Sydenham, near Philadelphia, February 14, 1S42. 

My dear Sir, — I am living here on a few acres that I like so 
much better than the town, that although near enough to hear 
its bells, when the wind sets right, I never go there when 
I can help it, and have nothing to do with its business, which is 
mentioned merely to account for my being behind the world in 
important matters and movements that are going on. As well 
as I can catch some of these at present, it would seem that you 
are about to withdraw from the Senate, and if so, I am unable 
any longer to stand out against an impulse that puts the pen into 
my hand, making me say. how, amid all the mutations of the 
last ten years, 1 have, under all circumstances, done justice to 
your patriotism, in alliance with all the other qualities, to mark 
you out as the true head of the party, whose principles you 
have so pre-eminently espoused. Such a testimony can be of 



OF HENRY CLAY. L57 

no value to you, but it gratifies me to give it utterance from my 
seclusion and leisure out here, founded as it is on convictions 
derived while associated with you in the public service, and al- 
though not able to side with that party in public measures, I 
continue to think that it will do great injustice to itself, if it 
does not regard you as its natural candidate for the highest 
honor it can bestow. At a 4th of July celebration in the neigh- 
borhood of Boston, in 18 10, 1 expressed this sentiment as strongly 
as 1 could, General Harrison then being its candidate, which 
may have been too unimportant to have fallen under your no- 
tice, as published in the papers of the day, and which is only al- 
luded to now, as the recorded and steady feelings prompting 
these lines to you. 

I am too much out of the world to be informed if Mrs. Clay 
is at Washington. If she is, Mrs. Rush, who often recalls her 
agreeable intercourse with her family, requests me to convey 
her affectionate remembrances to her, and her compliments to 
you. I am glad to say she is quite well, and beginning to think 
of her honeysuckles and roses as the spring approaches, if indeed 
we have not had it all the winter. With some grown-up daugh- 
ters now around her. we are about as well content and happy 
as we can expect, and both of us much inclined to the old 
Frenchman's maxim, that " every thing is for the best, in this 
best of worlds." 

In the sentiments I have thus thrown upon you, when sup- 
posing that you are about to retire from your present position, 
and in those of invariable personal esteem, I beg you 1o be- 
lieve me, my dear sir, very faithfully yours. 



RICHARD RUSH TO MR. CLAY. 

Sydenham, near Philadelphia, February 15, 1842. 

My dear Sir, — I follow my letter of yesterday, with this 
of to-day. In 1S33, when I first came to live here, I threw out 
a volume founded on my mission to England, in the course of 
which (chapter 17, closing part), if so humble a production 
ever came under your eye, you will hav i that I alluded to 

your early exertions in behalf of Spanish American emancipation. 

I am contemplating some continuation of the work, and may 
have occasion to speak somewhat more fully perhaps on that 



458 PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

topic, as connected with the claim the English make for Mr. 
Canning, that it was he who first called that part of our conti- 
nent into independent existence. This is not true, though 
he had great merit in that question — more, I think, than any 
statesman of England or Europe, of that day. You may per- 
haps remember that I had some very confidential intercourse and 
correspondence with Mr. Canning, on this whole matter, which, 
in fact, laid the foundation of Mr. Monroe's famous Message in 
1823. 

Now, my dear sir, will you do me so great a favor as to drop 
me a few lines at your convenience, giving me the date of your 
first movement in the House of Representatives on this subject ; 
I mean the one which distinctly looked to our recognition of the 
new States? I could trace it through back newspapers and other 
sources, for I well remember your early speeches on the subject, 
but a few lines from yourself would be more satisfactory to me, 
and the opportunity for this correspondence seems more favorable 
to me now, than after you get to Lexington, should you go 
there soon. 

I pray you to excuse the trouble it may give you, and in the 
renewed feelings of yesterday, I remain yours very faithfully. 



MARTIN VAN BUREN TO MR. CLAY. 

Hills of Santee, March 26, 1842. 

My dear Sir, — I have had the pleasure to receive your friendly 
letter at this place, and thank you very kindly for the invitation 
it contains. It is not quite certain that I will be able to stay 
long enough in Kentucky to pay Mrs. Clay and yourself a visit ; 
but if it should be so, you may rest assured that I shall not deny 
myself that gratification. My movements, after leaving Ten- 
nessee, are not definitively settled, and will have to be governed 
by circumstances, of which I am not now fully advised. It will 
not, however, in any event, be in my power to be with you be- 
fore the beginning of May. 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 459 



CAIITER BEVERLY TO MR. CLAY. 

. Va., April 2, 1842. 

Dear Sir, — On my arrival here yesterday I received your 
reply to my letter of February last from Middlesex, and feel glad 
to find that the communication I then made to you was well 
received, and kindly acknowledged. 

It is assuredly a matter of high satisfaction to me to believe 
that I discharged the obligation, which feeling and duty dictated, 
in doing the justice I designed of effacing the indignity cast 
upon you by the unfortunate, and to me unhappy Fayetteville 
letter that was, and has been so much the subject of injury to 
you in the public mind. It is now, I trust, put entirely to rest 
in the minds of all honorable and candid men, of whatever po- 
litical persuasion ; for surely none can, or will henceforward 
presume to countenance the miserable slander that went forth in 
that communication to the public against you. The entire re- 
vocation of it given by me ought to overwhelm the author of it 
with utter shame and mortification ; and if I had any right to 
say, were I in his situation, it would be my province, as it should 
be an incumbent duty on me, to make every atonement possible 
for such an unfounded, unprovoked attack upon your integrity 
and public fame. 

Believing that your letter to me, and this my reply, are cal- 
culated to benefit you in the public mind, I have sent both to 
" The Richmond Whig" and " Independent" for publication. 

I reiterate expressions of health and happiness to you, and re- 
main yours, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO REV. GILBERT H. SAYRES. 

Washington, April 12, 1842. 
My dear Sir, — I received, and perused with great interest and 
attention, the letter which you did me the favor to address to 
me. I cordially thank you for the sentiments of esteem and 
confidence, an expression of which you have so kindly com- 
municated. And I i st your acceptance of my gral 
acknowledgments for the lively interest you are pleased to take 
in my spiritual welfare, h hope that I shall profit by it. My 
mind has been often seriously impressed by grave considerations 



460 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of preparation for a future state : but, like the crowd in the active 
bustle of life and its varied occupations, I have, perhaps, too 
much neglected so weighty a matter. My retirement will afford 
me leisure for a more serious, and, I hope, more practical con- 
templation of it. 

Do me the favor to accept a copy of a little farewell speech I 
recently made in the Senate, accompanying this letter under 
another envelop, the interest of which, if it have any is to be 
found in attending circumstances. 



LORD ASHBURTON TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington-, April 11, 1842. 

My dear Sir, — I am truly obliged to you for your very agree- 
able proposal. I should have taken the liberty myself of ex- 
pressing a hope of being permitted to have a little conversation 
with you, and to renew our acquaintance, before you execute 
your purpose, which I, in common with your countrymen, so 
much regret, of retiring from this seat of Government. * At a 
time of life which calls me more imperatively to give up all 
thoughts of public business, I have been tempted to make my 
appearance among you, to see if we can not contrive to live on 
more friendly terms, and to end bickerings between two coun- 
tries which have, in truth, a sincere respect and affection for 
each other. Your good wishes for the success of this attempt 
are most acceptable to me. I only wish we had to treat together 
on what would soon cease to be material difficulties. 

I should take the earliest time you propose for the pleasure of 
seeing you, if it were not that I have an appointment, this morn- 
ing, at your Foreign Department, and do not know exactly how 
long it may last. To-morrow I am at your service, as soon as 
you please after ten o'clock ; or I would call upon you, if it 
were more convenient to you. 



WILLIAM C. PRESTOX TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, June 39, 1SV2. 
My dear Sir, — I have dispatched your letter to General 
Thompson in 1 1 1< - Mexican bag, and am glad to have even so 
small a commission to perform for you. 



OF HENRY CLAT. 461 

The British negotiation, I believe, goes on smoothly in regard 
to every point except the Maine boundary., which is complicated 
and embarrassed by the multitude of diplomatists congregated 
upon it. They have been here ten days, and have not yet got 
to a proposition for discussion. Our hope is that Abbott Law- 
rence and Governor Kent will get the ascendency, and carry on 
the matter. The other points — all of them, I think — are in a 
train of very favorable adjustment. In the mean time, our in- 
ternal condition is worse and worse, our separation from the 
Executive wider and wider, and the general efonfusion worse 
confounded. The election of Mangum has brought on a war 
ad intercessionem, and it is now generally believed (on good 
ground, perhaps) that there is a negotiation on foot to bring in 
the Locofocos to the Cabinet. Marcy and Stevenson, it is said, 
are the only two that lend a favorable ear, and they would 
have a rough navigation through the Senate. 

Mr. Rives' speech, yesterday, seemed to be a new latitude 
and departure. He abused your distribution policy, from begin- 
ning to end, in good set terms, and with much reason, I must 
say. He barely stopped short of denouncing it as unconstitu- 
tional ab initio, and has thus retraced his own steps. 

My letter was broken off by the intelligence of poor South- 
ard's death. His funeral took place yesterday. To-day Tyler 
sends in his veto of the tariff. This is downright madness. 
God preserve us, for our condition is most sad. 



A LADY TO MR. CLAY. 

Xew York, July 13, 1842. 

To the Hox. Henry Clay. — The life of a political man, espe- 
cially if he be pre-eminent among his cotemporaries, must, almost 
unavoidably, in an age of party strife, be one of great admixture 
of light and shade — of exulting joy and vexatious incidents — 
of injured feelings and of gratified pride. You. honored sir, 
have doubtless realized, more or less, the truth of these remarks 
in your own political career ; a career too brilliant to escape envy 
— too patriotic to escape detraction — too fearless to escape oppo- 
sition — too upright and honest to escape the contumely and bit- 
ter hate of those who love power more than justice, falsehood 
more than truth, and who would sacrifice to the Shibboleth of 



462 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

party the best interests of their common country. This may 
pass as a shade, but is it not more than balanced by the halo of 
light which arises from the approbation pf the wisest statesmen, 
the honest praise of all true patriots, and the admiration of all 
Americans, in every condition of life, who respect honesty of 
purpose and integrity of principle ; who approve not ruinous ex- 
periments and insulting vetoes ; and who regard the welfare of 
their country as paramount to all other considerations ? Then 
comes the self-approving conscience. Yes, sir ; yes, bright and 
satisfactory must be to you the reminiscences of your public life. 

" All honor to the star of the West !" I trust it will not long 
be permitted to revolve in its distant crbit ; I trust it will not 
soon be permitted to set ; but may He who rules over all yet 
e it to rise to our political zenith, and dispel the cloud of 
darkness which hangs over our once prosperous and happy, but 
now debased and injured country ; and by its genial influence 
and mighty power restore it to its former glorious and proud con- 
dition. 

Ladies, excluded by law from a voice in the counsels of the 
nation, have consequently no political influence. It is right that 
it should be so. Their duties lie in a different direction, and 
their happiness is drawn from a different source. But ladies are 
not excluded from feeling a deep interest in the welfare of their 
country, and no law, and no physical incapacity, imaginary or 
real, prevents them from rendering it service by calling upon 
Him who overrules its destinies, to look down upon it in this its 
hour of darkness with pity and compassion, and to deliver it from 
its evil state. This is a canvassing which surely can be disap- 
proved by none, and which compromises neither sex nor station. 
On this great source, then, of power and mercy, do I rely ; and 
daily do I offer up my supplications that God will open the eyes 
of this great nation of freemen to their true interests, and in 
good time, cause them to place the Government in the hands of 
one to whom all anxious eyes and honest hearts are now turned 
— one who will not <•' follow in the steps of his illustrious prede- 
cessors ;" but who shall rule in wisdom and in judgment, there- 
by restoring a distracted, prostrated country to sanity and health. 
Nor do my fervent petitions end here. After a long life of 
honor, fame, and usefulness shall have ended, may he — leaving 
his testimony in favor of the laws of God — be prepared by his 
grace to receive a crown of glory in the kingdom above! 



OF HENBY CLAY. 463 

You will doubtless be surprised, sir, that the trouble is giv i 
you of reading so long a letter, written by a lady, without any- 
rent motive : and really, having none of weight to offer, I 
that an a] is due. T ' . i the hours of relaxal 

sometimes afford a momentary satisfaction even to the great ; 
and! have thought it mi bly tinge a passing moment 

with a ray of pleasure, to be assured that although your country- 
women can not serve you at the ballot-box, they can. and do, 
remember you at the altar. 

Not having the honor of your acquaintance, instead of my 
own unimportant name, I beg leave to subscribe, with the great- 
est respect, that of A Tf.ue Northern Friend. 



MR. CLAY TO JACOB GIBSON. 

Asm and, July 2."<, 1B42. 

Dear Sir, — I received your letter by my neighbor and friend 
Mr. Henry, and the good account he gives me of you induces 
me to transmit this answer. 

My opinion on the subjects of slavery and Abolition was fully 
expressed in the Senate of the United States in February, 1S39, 
and I have seen no reason since to change it. The speech 
which I delivered on that occasion may be found in a cheap, 
although imperfect collection of my speeches, recently published 
in Cincinnati, and to that I respectfully refer you. I regret that 
I have no copy of it by me, detached from the book, or I would 
send it to you. 

I regard the existence of slavery as an evil. I regret it, and 
wish that there was not one slave in the United States. 

But it is an evil which, while it affects the States only, or 
principally, where it abounds, each State within which it is situ- 
ated is the exclusive judge of what is best to be done with it, 
and no other State has a right to interfere in it. Kentucky has 
no right to interfere with the slavi ry ^[' Virginia, and Ohio has 
no right to interfere with it in either. 

The jurisdiction of I ach State, v si . ry exists, is among 

the rest., i rights of the States. C s possesses no power 

or authority to aholish it. Congress is invested with no power 
relating to it, except that which assumes its legitimate and 
continued existence. As to slavery, with the exception of the 



464 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

conservative, representative, and taxing powers of Congress, the 
States are as much beyond the control of Congress as if they 
were independent nations, unconnected by any confederative 
constitution. 

Although I believe slavery to be an evil, I regard it as a far 
less evil than would arise out of an immediate emancipation of 
the slaves of the United States, and their remaining here mixed 
up in our communities. In such a contingency, I believe that a 
bloody civil war would ensue, which would terminate only by 
the extinction of the black race. 

It results, from these opinions which I entertain, that I con- 
sider the movements of the Abolitionists as altogether unauthor- 
ized and most unfortunate. I believe them productive of no 
good whatever, but attended with positive mischief to both the 
white and the black races. Of all the modes of separating the 
free blacks from the rest of the population of the United States, 
in my opinion, that of colonizing them in Africa is best. They 
are there in the abode of their ancestors, in a climate congenial 
to their constitutions, and with boundless territorial scope before 
them. For these and other reasons I think Africa far preferable 
to Oregon. An emigrant can be sent to Africa much cheaper 
than he can be to Oregon. He would then be not only in the 
home of his forefathers, but he might render great service to the 
natives of Africa, by introducing among them the arts of civil- 
ization and the religion of Christ. He would, moreover, be se- 
cure forever against the progress of the white man, which he 
would be far from being in Oregon. 

I have regretted extremely the agitation of abolition in the 
free States. It has done no good, but harm. It will do no good. 
The great body of Abolitionists, like the great mass of every 
party, I have no doubt, is honest, sincere, and humane. Their 
leaders deceive them, and will endeavor to profit by them. 
They will seek to ride into public office, and to snatch public 
honor, upon the delusions which they propagate. 

Abolition is a delusion which can not last. It is impossible it 
should endure. What is it ? In pursuit of a principle — a great 
principle, if you please, it undertakes to tread down and trample 
in the dust all opposing principles, however sacred. It sets up 
the right of the people of one State to dictate to the people of 
other States. It arrays State against State. To make the black 
man free, it would virtually enslave the white man. With a 



OF HENRY CLAY. 465 

single idea some of its partisans rush on blindly, regardless of HI 
consequences. They have dared even to threaten our glorious 
Union with dissolution. And suppose that unhallowed object 
achieved, would it emancipa • the slaves? What is their n< 
step? Is it to light up a war between the d ered parts of the 
Union, and through blood, devastation, and conflagration, to 
march forward to emancipation ? Are they at all sure that through 
such diabolical means they would be able finally to arrive at 
their object ? No, my friend, let each State, and the people of 
each State, take care of their own interests, leaving other States, 
and the people of other States, to take care of theirs. We have 
enough to do in our respective and legitimate spheres of action — 
enough 'for the exercise of all the charities and sympathies of our 
nature. 

But what is ultimately to become of slavery ? asks the impa- 
tient Abolitionist. I can not tell him with any certainty. I 
have no doubt that the merciful Providence, which permitted its 
introduction into our country against the wishes of our ancestors, 
will, according to His own good pleasure and time, provide for 
its mitigation or termination. 

In the mean time, we have had much to encourage us. Our 
Revolution led to the cessation of the African slave trade with the 
United States. It altogether ceased in 1808. Many States 
emancipated their slaves, not by the perilous process of an im- 
mediate liberation, but by the gradual and cautious proceeding 
of a slow and regulated emancipation, liberating the offspring at 
mature age, and leaving the parents in slavery: thus making 
preparation for the proper use of the liberty which their children 
were to enjoy. Every where a spirit of humanity was, more 
and more, infusing itself into the laws for the regulation of the 
treatment of slaves, until it was checked, in some places, by the 
agitation of Abolition. Some States, where the proportion of 
slaves was not very great in comparison with the whites, were 
beginning seriously to think about the practicability of a gradual 
emancipation within their limits, but they, too, have been checked 
by the intemperate zeal of Abolitionists. The feasibility of 
African colonization has been demonstrated, and the Society, with 
its limited means, has been quietly prosecuting its noble object. 

By some of the means indicated, and others hidden from our 
view, by an all-wise Providence, we may cherish the hope 'bat 
if violent Abolitionists will cease stirring up strife and agitating 

30 



466 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

the passions, we may ultimately alleviate the evils, if not eradi- 
cate the existence of slavery in onr land. 

The generation that established our independence achieved a 
great and glorious work. Succeeding generations have accom- 
plished much in advancing the growth, the power, and the great- 
ness of this nation. We must leave some things to posterity, 
and among others the task of making adequate provision for the 
institution of Slavery. 

In spite of slavery, our arms triumphed in the revolutionary 
struggle. And it is not too much to assert that, if Abolition had 
developed itself then, as it since has done, we should have failed. 
We should have been unable to form the Confederation, or sub- 
sequently to have adopted the present Constitution. In* spite of 
slavery, we were successful in the second war with Great Britain. 
And in neither war, it is a gratifying historical fact, was the 
enemy able, by all his arts of seduction, to withdraw many slaves 
from their fidelity. In spite of slavery, we have moved onward 
in our march to power and greatness, augmenting our population, 
in a period only co-extensive with that of my own life, from two 
and a half to seventeen millions. 

If our country is now writhing under the agony of extreme 
pecuniary distress and embarrassment, it has not b i roduced 
by slavery, at least not by black slavery. It has been brought 
about, I think, by the exercise of arbitrary power, but not that 
which the master exerts over his black slave. 

Let us cease to agitate a topic which divides, distracts, and 
inflames the community ; which tends to array man against man, 
Slate against State, and section against section, and which 
threatens the greatest of all possible calamities which could befall 
this people, the dissolution of the union of these States. Let us, 
in place of discord and dissension, cultivate peace, harmony, and 
good will among the people and the States of this Confederacy. 
And let us recollect that we have other duties — far higher duties 
— to perform toward our country, toward posteri . and toward 
the world, than even the extirpation of African slavery, however 
much its original introduction among us is to be deplored. 

I have thus, in answer to your inquiries, given you a full, can- 
did, and unreserved exposition of my opinions and feelings, on 
the several subjects to which they relate. I hope they will 
be ] c< ived and examined in the same friendly and frank spirit 
in which they are communicated. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 467 



JUDGE STORY TO MR. CI. VV. 

murrGE, August 8, 18-12. 

My dear Sir, — I return you in* , e thanks for the copy 
of your Lexington dinner speech, which you have been so kind 
as to send me. I have read it with deep interest. It abounds 
with passages of great eloquence and .statesmanlike views, and 
lofty principles. I am a Whig, arid although 1 do not pretend 
to mingle in the common politics of the day, there are great 
measures upon which I have a decided opinion, and which I 
would not disguise, if 1 could. I am for a National Bank, a 
protective Tariff, a distribution law of the public lands, and a 
permanent Bankrupt law. All these measures are, in my judg- 
ment, indispensable to the public prosperity and peace of our 
country. In promoting these measures, I know no man who 
has labored more perseveringly, or with more zeal, ability, and 
honorable devotion, than yourself, at all times. I, as one, feel 
grateful to you for these labors ; and I trust that my country 
will, for many years to come, possess the services of one whose 
eminent talents have so justly obtained the approval of the most 
enlightened minds in our public councils. 

With my best personal wishes for the entire restoration of your 
health, and for many years of life, happy as well as useful, I 
beg you to believ . with the highest respect, truly your most 

obliged friend and servant. 



MR. CLAY TO JOHN S. LITTELL. 

Ashland, August 17, 1842. 

My dear Sir, — I received your obliging letter with its inclos- 
ure. The arrangement, by which Mr. Epos Sargent has under- 
taken to compose a biography of me, was made by the young 
men of New York, prior to my learning, through Mr. Toland, 
your friendly wishes. It would have been, otherwise, very 
agreeable to me to have acceded to them. 

Mr. Sargent's work, I presume, from what I have heard of its 
progress, is now nearly ready for the press. I wish he had a 
better subject for his pen; and I fear that it may be with him, 
as it has been with many of the artists, who have taken my 
portrait, that, owing to the defects of the original, nothing very 



468 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

striking or interesting will be produced. I am sure that it will 
be no more his than it was their fault. I have perused your song 
with lively interest, and I cordially thank you for it. If my 
judgment is not biased by the flattering expressions and senti- 
ments toward me, which it contains, I think it will be found to 
be extremely well adapted to the popular use for which it was 
intended. 

Accept, my dear sir, my grateful acknowledgments for your 
friendly views and intentions toward me ; and assurances of my 
esteem and regard. 



AMOS P. GRANGER AND OTHERS TO MR. CLAY. 

Syracuse, Onondaga County. New York, 
September 10, 1842. 

Dear Sir, — It having recently become known among your 
friends in this town, that one of our citizens had received a 
request from you, to purchase and forward to you a quantity of 
Onondaga salt for use upon your farm at Ashland, a large meet- 
ing was immediately assembled at which it was resolved to ask 
your acceptance free of charge of a small invoice containing 
specimens of the various kinds of salt manufactured from our 
saline waters. 

The undersigned were appointed a Committee to advise you 
of the shipment and to express to you in behalf of the meeting, 
the high estimation in which your character and public services 
are held. 

We now take great pleasure in advising you of the shipment 
of twenty-three barrels to the care of January & Son, Maysville, 
Kentucky, with instructions to deliver to you free of charge. 
You will find specimens of common and solar salt, ground and 
refined dairy salt, which we venture to say will prove equal to 
the best quality of the imported article. 

A very large number of your friends, as will be seen by the 
inclosed list of names, accompanying the invoice, have shared 
in the gratification of exhibiting this small, but sincere manifest- 
ation of the grateful sense which they entertain of your un- 
wavering devotion to the great interests of American industry in 
all its branches. 

Indeed, sir, those whose sentiments we are instructed to com- 



OF 1 1 KMIY CLAY. 469 

municate, feci that your public services have laid them under a 
mightier debt of gratitude than they can express by this imper- 
fect mark of their respect and esteem. 

Connected as they are immediately or remotely with this im- 
portant branch of domestic industry, they know thai their own 
prosperity and happiness vitally depend upon the maintenance 
of the principles which have guided your public life — they grate- 
fully remember that in the councils of the nation you have 
ever been the consistent friend and the eloquent advocate of 
American Labor. While others have sought the prostration of 
this and other great interests, now grown into national import- 
ance, you have always been found in opposition to the attempt. 
Your voice has ever been on the side of protection to the indus- 
try of your own country, against the blighting competition of 
foreign labor, controlled by foreign capital. 

The Saline waters of Onondaga are believed to be inexhaust- 
ible, and sufficient capital has already been invested in the man- 
ufacture of salt from them to furnish half the quantity consumed 
in the United States. Under a system of just protection that 
capital was profitably employed, and thousands of laborers in this 
and other dependent branches of industry, received a comforta- 
ble subsistence. But under the late existing laws this import- 
ant interest has just reached the lowest point of depression. 
Capital is without its return, and labor without its reward. 

For the future, we hope much from the recent legislation of 
Congress in establishing a Tariff of duties upon foreign pro- 
ducts, affording, as is believed, a fair measure of protection to do- 
mestic industry. But we can not forget that the war-cry of 
repeal has already been sounded. 

At such a crisis, when that great system, of which the honor 
of being the founder, belongs to you, and which it was your 
glorious ambition to establish upon a sound and permanent basis, 
had been suddenly prostrated, and when dangers arc again thick- 
ening around it, your eminent services in the public councils in 
behalf of that beneficent system can not but be justly appreci- 
ated. The eyes of the nation again turn to you. 

In conclusion, sir, we beg leave to express the hope that your 
life may be long spared to your country. 

We are your friends and obedient servants. 



470 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



A. M. JANUARY TO MR. CLAY. 

May>ville, September 22, 1842. 

Dear Sir, — We received for you this morning from Syracuse, 
New York, twenty-three barrels salt, and one small box, eighteen 
barrels of which, and the box, we have forwarded to-day in 
Jno. Nudegate's wagon, to be delivered at Ashland free of any 
charge. The carriage we pay here on return of the wagoner 
with a receipt of the delivery, the remaining five barrels we will 
forward by the first opportunity in same way. 

Very respectfully your friends, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO NICHOLAS 0. BRITTON. 

Ashland, September 23, 1S42. 

My dear Sir, — I received your obliging letter, and candidly 
thank you for the sentiments of regard and friendship toward 
me which it communicates ; and I am extremely happy to re- 
ceive from you such strong expressions of confidence in the 
Whig character of your State. The apathy which you never- 
theless describe as the cause of the loss of your Legislature is 
greatly to be deplored. Besides depriving the country of the 
services of an able and upright Senator, it inspires our adver- 
saries with fresh hopes, and will stimulate them to make in- 
vigorated exertions. It is to be regretted that the force of the 
truth, that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, is not more 
generally felt. 

With respect to my becoming a candidate for the high office 
to which you refer, I can add nothing to what I said in a public 
speech delivered at a Barbecue near this place, in June last. I 
have no wish to be forced upon the people ; no desire that my 
name shall be used, unless I am fully persuaded that it is wanted 
by a majority of my countrymen. The prevalence of the 
apathy noticed by you makes it difficult to comprehend their 
real wishes ; and there is certainly some danger that the road to 
victory may be lost by the Whigs from th . ( .s which they 

suffer. There is, however, ample time yet to form some satis- 
factory opinion as to the probable views of the majority of the 
people of the United States. If we have our troubles, our ad- 
versaries are not free from theirs. 



OF HENliV CLAY. 471 

The course of Mr. Tyler has been Mich as to produce disgust 
and dissatisfaction. Cut if he lias been faithless, our friends in 
Congress have been true and faithful. Should they be abandoned 
because of his perfidy? Why, when their defeal Is precisely what 
he desires ? F< r there can be no longer a doubt that he is wield- 
ing all the power and influence of his office for the benefit of 
those who opposed his election, against those whose exertions and 
suffrages secured it. 

I wish I could see any near prospect of the restoration of a 
sound currency. If Mr. Tyler adheres to the opinions on which 
he has acted, there is none. As to his Exchequer, it would make 
such a fearful addition to the already enormous power of the 
Executive, that I have never for a moment thought it ought to 
be adopted. 

I suppose that the only alternative left to the country is to 
hobble on as well as it can with the State Banks, incompetent 
as I am obliged to regard them to supply a general currency of 
uniform value. 

I am unable to say when I shall have the gratification of visit- 
ing your Stale (Virginia). I shall seize with eagerness the first 
occasion I can to enjoy it. 

With great regard I am your friend and obedient servant. 



LORD MORPETH TO HENRY CLAY. 

w Oeleans, October 1G, 1S42. 

My dear Mb. Clay, — I propose at present to ascend the Missis- 
sippi by the " Henry Clay/*' which will probably deposit me at 
Louisville by the end of this month. I am not aware whether 
you will have reached your own shades by that period, or wheth- 
er you would wish the retirement to which you have consigned 
yourself to be so soon broken in upon ; but if it suited you to 
give me shelter for a day, I could not resist the temptation of 
diverging to Lexington, and in that case perhaps you will be 
good enough to address a line to me at Post-oflice, Louisvil! . 

Whether it is my good fortune to meet you again or not, al- 
low me to send you < good wish. I 1, if I may say so 
without any inconvenient r ponsi . . I should be quite ready 
tdy to tender you my vote, if I only had one, for the next 
Presidential election. 

Believe me, my dear sir, very faithfully yours, etc. 



472 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



AMBROSE SPENCER TO MR. CLAY. 

Lyons, X. Y., October 28, 1842. 
My dear Sir, — I have read with deep mortification a letter 
addressed by my son, John C. Spencer, to certain persons in 
Roch . i-. Among the first ideas suggested by this letter, was 
this : Whether you would not naturally infer a coincidence on 
my part in the general sentiments of the letter ? I feel impelled 
by self-respect, and the sincere regard I have for you personally, 
as well by my admiration of your brilliant and patriotic career 
through your lifetime, to remove from your mind any erroneous 
opinions on points affecting my own consistency and honor. I 
then assure you that my son has not spoken my opinions, in 
several, and, indeed, in the main points of his letter. I have 
held no counsel with him, nor even attempted to control him, 
but have left him free to act without any advice of mine. I 
heartily concur with my Whig brethren throughout the nation, 
that Mr. Tyler has acted most perfidiously toward those who 
have elevated him to power, and I feel for him that contempt 
which his duplicity and perfidy ought to inspire in honorable 
bosoms. Although I can not think my son would knowingly 
mistate facts, yet the advice he imputes to Mr. Tyler's first Cab- 
inet is so extraordinary that it seems to me improbable, if not 
impossible. 

When I last saw you jfci. Washington, it was my wish to have 
a full conversation with you, but it was a period which forbade 
that gratification. 

I have now disburdened my mind from what would have 
weighed upon it, and although I should object to any publicity 
being given to this letter through the press, I have no objec- 
tion to your communicating its contents to discreet friends. 

What will be the issue of our election, is impossible, in this 
great State, to be foretold with any certainty. Every thing de- 
pends on a full poll. If it be a full one, I think we shall suc- 
ceed. I do not believe that Webster's speech, or Cushing's, or 
the letter, will have any materia", effect. 



OF HEHBT CLAY. 473 



MR, CLAY TO JOHX S. LITTELL. 

Ashland, November 11, 1S12. 

Mt dear Siu, — I received your favor of the 28th ultimo, with 
the small volume accompanying it, containing your Biographical 
Notice of me. Amid pr< parations for my departure for Louis- 
iana, where I propose passing at New Orleans a portion of the 
ensuing winter, I have not yet given it the deliberate perusal to 
which, I have no doubt, its merits entitle it, although I have 
looked a little into it with much satisfaction. But I can not de- 
lay conveying an expression of my grateful thanks for the inter- 
est which you take in me, and of which I have re I many 
strong proofs. I appreciate these, the higher, because I am quite 
sure that they have been rendered from disinterested and patriotic 
motives. I pray you to accept my cordial acknowledgments for 
them all. 

I am now in the hands of a Philadelphia artist, Mr. Neagle, 
who has advanced so far in his portrait of me, and with so much 
success, that I feel authorized to say that I think he will make 
a faithful and spirited likeness of me. 

Do me the favor to present my warm regards to our friend 
Mr. Tolaud. 



MR. CLAY TO FRANCIS BROOKE. 

New Orleans, December 30, 1842. 

My dear«Sir, — I received your favor by Mr. Porter, as I had 
received your previous letter, to which it refers. I should have 
before written to you, but that I really possessed nothing to 
communicate, and I wish now only to assure you of the receipt 
of your favors, and of my constant regard. 

My voyage has been distinguished by enthusiastic demon- 
strations, wherever I have been. My effort has been rather to 
repress than to excite them. So far I have succeeded in avoid- 
ing my tour being given a political aspect. I expect to remain 
at the South until some time in February, I feel already ben- 
efited by the climate, although my health was not bad whi i 
left home. 

Your sources of political information are so much better than 
mine that I can add nothing to the stock which you possess. 
Every where I find great confidence prevailing among the Whigs 



474 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of their success in 1844. All the elections of the past fall 
which have been lost by them, have been lost not by the in- 
creased strength of their opponents, but by voters remaining ab- 
sent from feelings of mortification and disgust, created by the 
acting President. Such is the view which I find every where 
taken. The problem to be solved is, whether the Whigs can 
be rallied in 1844. I hope and believe they will be. 

I have seen a Mr. Carter and his lady here, near relations of 
Mrs. Brooke, and promised them to say so. They were well, 
and I believe doing well. 

Present my best regards to Mrs. Brooke and your daughter. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMAN. 

Ashland, April 13, 1843. 

My dear Sir — I received your favor, transmitting a letter 
from Mr. Gamage, which satisfactorily explains his motives in 
accepting a foreign appointment. 

I saw that you had been pronouncing a discourse upon my 
poor life and poor services. I wish that you had had a better 
subject, but I have no doubt that you made the most of that 
which you selected. I presume I shall see the discourse, when 
published. 

I lately addressed the people at home, and declared the prin- 
ciples which, in my opinion, ought to regulate the administra- 
tion of the patronage of the general Government. I invite your 
attention to them, as published. 



MR. BODISCO TO MR. CLAY. 

Geohgeto-wn-, June 27, 1S13. 

My dear Mr. Clay, — You were among the first who treated 
me with great kindness at my arrival at Washington. Since 
that time, our social intercourse has been a source of great 
gratification to me, and I would not pardon myself, if I were 
to leave this country without expressing to yon all my friendly 
feelings. Mrs. Clay must not be so jealous, if I add how much 
Mrs. Bodisco is fend of you, and how well we agree in our at- 
. nent to you. Our departure for Europe has been delayed by 



OF HENRY CLAY. 475 

the nomination of a first secretary coming from Persia, and 
whom I am to present to the Secretary of State, as Charg6 d' \f- 
faires, during my temporary ab nee. I expect Count Zabello 
by the next steamer, and intend to start immediately after his 
arrival, leaving here, as a pledge of our return, two fine hoys, 
and two nephews, under the care of Mrs. B.'s parents. We hope 
that all will turn out well, and in accordance with our wishes. 

The diplomatic corps has been rather amused by all the great 
discoveries lately made about Tariff treaties, and by the attempt 
to make out of Mr. Rumford a very smart man. The best 
treaty he ever negotiated, was his marriage with one of Astor's 
daughters. Bremen is one of the two great outlets of your im- 
portant and growing trade with the German league. To dis- 
turb that trade for the sake of the few ships she employs, would 
be a hazardous experiment. If your Government could succeed 
by reciprocity stipulations, to have your grain and provisions ad- 
mitted in England, we in Europe would soon enough outbid you 
in cheapness, and furnish all that would be required, corn not 
excepted, at forty-eight hours' notice. I have read with great 
attention, Mr. Clayton's able article in " The Philadelphia In- 
quirer." It put me in mind of the opinion on this subject, by 
one of the great men of my country. He used to say that the 
best commercial treaty is not worth a system of permanent and 
moderate protective duties at home, and full liberty for the 
trading community to provide herself with the cheapest markets. 

Flattering myself to leave here some good friends, and having 
a real interest in the prosperity of the young Giant, I '11 follow 
with undiminished solicitude, the coming events, with the hope 
that the contest will be settled according to our wishes. 

Pray remember me to all my Kentucky friends, with Critten- 
den at their head, and be persuaded of Mrs. Bodisco's and my 
best wishes, for you and Mrs. Clay's happiness. 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY T. LLOYD. 

A6HLAND, AugUSt 20, 18-1". 

Dear Sir. — I have duly received your friendly letter, and the 
box to which it refers, containing half a dozen bottles of Ameri- 
can Cologne water, all in good ord and I I i my warm 
thanks for the acceptable present, and the friendly sentiments 



476 PEIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

toward me, which induced you to offer it. Mrs. Clay, who is a 
better judge of its quality than I am, pronounces it equal to the 
best German or French Cologne Water, and my opinion coincides 
with her's. 

It was long ago remarked that any man who made a blade 
of grass grow, where one did not before, was a public benefac- 
tor. That citizen is an equal benefactor, by whose skill and 
industry an article of consumption is produced at home, and the 
necessity of sending abroad the money to purchase it, is avoided. 
To ensure the prosperity of our country, and to escape those af- 
flicting revulsions, which are so ruinous, we must learn and 
practice the invaluable truth, to sell as much, and buy as little 
as possible, abroad. Every prudent planter and farmer acts on 
that principle, and what is wise in individuals, is wise in nations. 
I congratulate you on the perfection to which you have brought 
the manufacture of a very agreeable article, in extensive use, 
and tender you cordial wishes for your success, prosperity, and 
happiness. 



MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Ashland, September 2, 1843. 

My dear Sir,— Allow me to suggest a subject for one of your 
Tracts which, treated in your popular and condensed way, I think 
would be attended with great and good effect, I mean Abolition. 

It is manifest that the ultras of that party are extremely mis- 
chievous, and arc hurrying on the country to fearful consequen- 
ces. They are not to be conciliated by the Whigs. Engrossed 
with a single idea, they care for nothing else. They would see 
the administration of the Government precipitate the nation into 
absolute ruin before they would lend a helping hand to arrest its 
career. They treat worse and denounce most those who treat 
them best, who so far agree with them as to admit slavery to be ' 
an evil. Witness their conduct toward Mr. Briggs and Mr. 
Adams, in Massachusetts, and toward me. 

I will give you an outline of the manner in which I would 
handle it. Show the origin of slavery. Trace its introduction 
to the British Government. Show how it is disposed of by the 
Federal Constitution. That it is left exclusively to the States, 
except in regard to fugitives, direct taxes and representation. 
Show that the agitation of the question in the free States, will 



of jri'Nicv clay. 477 

first destroy all harmony, and finally lead to disunion. That 
the consequences of disunion — perpetual war — the extinction of 
the African race — ultimate military despotism. 

But the great aim and object of your Tract should be 1" 
the laboring classes in the.frec States against Abolition. De] 
the consequences to them of immediate abolition. TIi 
being free, would be dispersed throughout the Union ; they 
would enter into competition with the free laborer; with the 
American, the Irish, the German; reduce his wages; be con- 
founded with him, and affect his moral and social standing. 
And as the ultras go for both abolition and amalgamation, show 
that their object is to unite, in marriage, the laboring white 
man, and the laboring black man, and to reduce the white la- 
boring man to the despised and degraded condition of the black 
man. 

I would show their opposition to colonization. Show its 
humane, religious and patriotic aim. That they are to separate 
those whom God has separated. Why do the Abolitionists op- 
pose colonization? To keep and amalgamate together the two 
races, in violation of God's will, and to keep the blacks here, 
that they may interfere with, degrade, and debase the laboring 
whites. Show that the British nation is co-operating with the 
Abolitionists, for the purpose of dissolving the Union, the. 
World's Convention, etc. 

You can make a powerful article that will be felt in every 
extremity of the Union. 

I am perfectly satisfied it will do great good. 

Let me hear from you on this subject. 



GENERAL BERTRAM) TO MR. CLAY. 

A Lfaington, le 6 Octobrc, au soir, 1843. 
Mon cher Monsieur, — Etant venu a Lexington dans le but 
special de vous rendre mes devoirs, j'accepte avec empressement 
1 invitation que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de m'addresser pour 
demain, vous priant d'agreer mes remercimens et les sentimens 
de ma haute consideration. 



478 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

New Yoke, October 11, 1843. 

My dear Sir, — I received, yesterday, your favor of the 3d 
instant, and find it to be precisely what I knew it ought to be, 
and was sure it would be. 

The following facts, which have been confidentially commu- 
ted to me by his confidential friend, may be relied on, viz : 

That Mr. Webster, on leaving here two days ago, assured this 
friend, that he should return to Massachusetts with a determina- 
tion to re-unite himself to the Whig party, and give it his best 
support. That, although there were some things in your course 
which he did not entirely approve, yet that he had a high respect 
for you, and should give you his vote and support for the Presi- 
dency. That, some few weeks since (probably when on his way 
to Rochester), he wrote a long letter to President Tyler, expos- 
tulating with him in the freest and most severe terms, upon the 
wickedness and folly of his late official course, and advising him 

to stop at once his wild career, or he would d n himself and 

ruin his country ; asking no reply to his letter, but requesting 
that it might be carefully put on file, as a subject of future refer- 
ence and reflection. That, in his recent visit to Washington, he 
dined twice with the President — once alone and in private when 
their whole political creed was canvassed and reviewed — and 
once in company with the whole Cabinet, when not a word was 
said on politics — and that Webster had a confidential interview 
with Mr. Upshur, Secretary of State, in which their political 
views in regard both to the present and the future, were found 
nn comparison to be perfectly harmonious, and moreover, that 
they were thoroughly Whig. * * * * 

On the whole our political prospects are uncommonly bright 
and promising. The cheering and unexpected result of the 
elections in Maryland and Georgia, seems to have inspired our 
friends with new ardor and energy ; and we anticipate with a 
confidence, that we have never before felt, on your triumphant 
election a year from this time. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 479 



PETER B. PORTER TO MR. CLAY. 

N BW York, October 18, 1843. 

Dear Sir, — As it seems to hare ' rally known among 

Mr. Webster's friends here, that ] it the p ; solicitation 

of one of them, although under the declared conviction that it 
could produce no useful result, written to yon on th • subject of 
a reconciliation, and future concert of action with the W< 
party, they were extremely anxious to know what would be 
your reply j and, having thus committed myself by writing at 
all, it became necessary that I should advise them of your answer, 
which I have accordingly done, by reading to two or three of 
them, as also to Messrs. Lawrence, Webb, and one or two other 
Whig friends, confidentially, the following paragraphs from your 
letter, as comprising the whole it contained on that subject: 

" I approve in the main of the answer you gave to Mr. Web- 
ster's friend. I have done him (Mr. W.) no wrong, and have 
therefore no reconciliation to seek. His course since Mr. Tyler's 
accession, but especially since the extra session, has deeply sur- 
prised me. I told him the last day of that session, ' If you mean 
to remain in Mr. Tyler's Cabinet, to finish some business not yet 
completed (alluding to the M'Leod affair), the public will justify 
you ; but if you mean to remain there permanently, it will con- 
demn you.' 

" I defended him when his nomination for Secretary of State 
was before the Senate, and was very nigh getting into a personal 
affair with Mr. Cuthbert about it. 

" Should I be a candidate for the Presidency, I shall be glad 
to receive his support, or that of any other American citizen ; 
but I can enter into no arrangements, make no promises, oiler no 
pledges to obtain it. It is impossible that I can be a party to 
any arrangement by which Mr. Webster, or any body else, is to 
be run as the candidate for Vice-President with me. I have 
declined all interference in behalf of Davis, Sergeant, or Clayton, 
or any body else, and must continue to do so. My duty is to 
remain perfectly passive until the nomination is made, and after 
that, to give to the nomination, of whi »ever may be proposed, such 

ipportaslcan consistently with honor, delicacy, and propriety."' 

Our friends were delighted with this reply, and even the 
Webster men wcie obliged to acknowledge that it was perfectly 
correct and proper. 



480 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



JOHN DAVIS TO MR. CLAY. 

Worcester, Mass., October H, 1843. 

My dear Sir, — I congratulate you upon the reviving sense 
and spirit of the country. How deeply must Mr. Calhoun feel 
the results of the late elections in Tennessee, North Carolina, 
and Georgia ? How much astonished must he be to see the 
doctrines of a protective Tariif and distribution of the proceeds 
of the public lands prevail against his theory of politics and his 
scheme of nullification ? 

The public mind has evidently been gaining strength and 
courage for some months, and the fact that it has settled down 
upon its candidate for the Presidency has aided in this desirable 
event. There seems here, in the real Whig party, to be but one 
sentiment on that head, and it looks to your name as the rallying 
word. Wc have difficulties and embarrassments to contend with. 
The Abolitionists, who appear to be disinclined to all connection 
with the Whigs, have strength enough, which they take from us, 
to put us in some peril. We can, however, do nothing with 
them, except to let them alone, which is the wisest course. You 
are, however, the object at which they aim most of their shafts, 
and whom the leading members of the party are most desirous 
of defeating. We take pains to circulate your life and speeches, 
published by Greeley, as the best method of placing your char- 
acter fairly before the public, and of refuting the calumnies to 
which the press gives birth. Many Abolitionists, though by no 
means all, are conscientious men, who view slavery as a sin. and 
reason to the consequences which follow. With them it con- 
stitutes the Alpha and Omega of politics and morals, and it is in 
vain to discuss the topic with such. * * * * 

Corruption and Tyler, and Tyler and corruption, will slick 
together as long as Catiline and treason. The name of Tyler 
will stink in the nostrils of the people ; for the history of our 
Government affords no such palpable example of the prostitution 
of executive patronage to the wicked purposes of bribery. The 
Locos of this State are equally criminal, and it will be hard for 
them to wipe off the stain. 

Colonel Johnson has been here, and called to see me. What 
he hopes for, or what he anticipates, is difficult to say, though 
he seems in good spirits. He wearshisred jacket, and the papers 
say, and the people think, cares nothing about dress. 



OF HENKY CLAY. 481 

Without detaining yon with a long, unprofitable letter, I can 
not close without saying that the Whigs here have a strong feel- 
ing that von will succeed in IS 14. This of itself will do much 
to accomplish so desirable a result. I should be much gratified to 
hear from you. I send without paying postage, as I sec yon use 
your frank. 



J. Q. ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Quincy, Massachusetts, October 17, 1843. 

My dear Sir, — T have received your very kind and friendly 
invitation, for which and for the concurring invitation of your 
lady to Mrs. Adams and to me, in her name and my own, I can 
not tender to you our sense of obligation in words adequate to 
the feelings by which they are inspired. Nothing could give 
us more pleasure than to accept yonr offered hospitality and to 
visit you at your residence at Ashland. 

But the state of Mrs. Adam's health will not admit of her ac- 
companying me on this expedition; and my own age and in- 
firmities have admonished me that the engagement which I have 
contracted, is at least, as much as I can expect to perform with 
impunity. I have found it necessary, therefore, to limit the 
bounds of my journey within the State of Ohio, and to restrain 
all my wishes and temptations to extend my journey further. 
The visit to Kentucky, and particularly to yourself, will remain 
as a hope that I may indulge hereafter, while the kindness of 
your invitation will remain upon my memory with the most fer- 
vent good wishes for your health and happiness. 



MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTOfL 

Ashland, November 9, 1843. 

My dear Sir, — Do not imagine that T am forgctfnl of you, or 
insensible to your exertions for the public, and for me. I have 
been absent from home, my correspondence is excessively op- 
pressive, and not until this afternoon have I been able to read 
your life of me* In the main, its facts are correct. It is a 
good outline, well-adapted to its purpose. There are a few in- 

* One of the Junius Tracts. 
31 



482 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 

accuracies, and too much commendation and panegyric. I do 
not know that it is worth while to point out the errors. I would 
do it if I could write on the margin. 

You are unjust toward the Compromise Act. It saved our 
manufactures, gave them stability, and they did well, until the 
disorders in the currency, and consequent revulsions, affected 
them, and every thing, and every body else. Up to 1840, it 
worked well, and afforded a sufficient measure of protection. 
It was the duty of a Van Buren Congress to provide for the pe- 
riod beyond that, but it would not perform its duty. 



MR. CLAY TO JOHN S. LITTELL. 

Ashland, November 13, 1843. 

My dear Sir, — I have received your favor with its several 
inclosures, and thank you for the address, etc., of the Clay Club 
of Germantown. It is a fair and very able exposition of Whig 
principles ; and I tender you cordial congratulations on the en- 
couraging prospect of their establishment. And I beg- you to 
accept my cordial thanks for the songs, which appear to be well 
calculated to excite and stimulate that spirit, which is all that is 
needed to insure a great and glorious triumph. To the princi- 
ples announced in the declaration and resolutions, every Whig 
can subscribe. 

I congratulate you on the auspicious prospects of our good 
cause. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1844, '4o, '46 AND '47. 

MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

New Orleans, January 22, isi I. 

My dear Son, — I received your two letters of the 4th and 
9th inst.j but I have received none from Thomas. Henry will 
write you about his horse. I should be glad if you could make 
some equitable arrangement with Bradley, to take the Wood- 
pecker filly. 

I send you inclosed a power of attorney from Henry, to sign 
one, and indorse another note for $5,000, which I left with you 
to be discounted at the Northern Bank, along with two others 
that I also left. I wish you to attend to that business particu- 
larly ; I think the 20th February is the time. I also inclose the 
first number of a draft, for the sum of $ , to pay the dis- 
count on the four notes. The second I will send via Washing- 
ton city. 

It will be time, on my return home, to decide on your propo- 
sal about water rotting hemp. In the mean time, I expect Mr. 
Florea to put in hemp all the hemp ground I have, including 
the new ground and piece at Mansfield. 

Tell Thomas that I think he had better make a contract with 

Mr. (I forget his name), of Clarke, for his crops of hemp 

offered us, at the market price between the time of delivery and 
the 1st of September, paying interest upon every teutons, from 
time to time, as delivered. I think the probability is that hemp 
will fall below rather than rise above the price of $4, at which 
you state it now to be. 

My health has been generally good, but I am suffering just 
now with cold and its effects. I shall leave here about the 20th 
of next month. Any letters for me after the 10th, had better 



4.84 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

be addressed to me at Augusta, Georgia, via Washington, until 
the 10th March ; after that to Charleston, until the 25th March ; 
after that to Raleigh, until the 10th April ; and after that to 
Washington. 

Poor Judge Porter is dead, and I regret that uncertainty should 
exist about his successor. A rumor has got into circulation. 1 
believe without foundation, that he has left me a legacy. 

My love to your mamma, Susan, John, and Henry. 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE. 

Macon-, March If, 184 1. 

My dear Sir, — I received, at this place, your obliging letter 
of the 24th ultimo, and the one inclosed from the National Clay 
Club, to which I now transmit herein an answer. I am greatly 
mortified that an answer was not received from me to the com- 
munication from Mr. Gibbons, during last autumn. I am under 
a strong impression that I did transmit a reply to it. I hope 
he and the Club will be perfectly assured that I intended neither 
any disrespect or neglect. 

I know, my dear sir, full well, the disinterested motives which 
prompt you and your associates in the great contest now in pro- 
gress. The country ought to be grateful for your services, and 
it is with unfeigned pleasure that I express my personal grati- 
tude. Allow me to suggest, that while I have no objection that 
the inclosed letter should be read at the Club, I do not perceive 
any necessity for its publication. 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE AND OTHERS. 

Macox, March IT, 1S44. 

Gentlemen, — I have received, at this place, the letter which 
you addressed to me upon the 24th ultimo, and I perused it at- 
tentively, with some feelings of concern and regret. 

I received the letter which was addressed to me last autumn 
by the National Clay Club, and I have a strong conviction, al- 
though 1 would not assert positively, that I replied to it, prior to 
my departure from home. I know it was my intention to an- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 4*f> 

swcr it, and to answer every communication which I received. 
If I did not do so, it was an unintentional omission. I must, 
nevertheless, say, that I have need of all the indulgence of my 
friends and correspondents. My correspondence is very exten- 
sive, and is becoming more and more so. It occupies, when I 
am at home, my time constantly. Many of the Clubs which 
have done me the honor to assume my name, have put them- 
selves in correspondence with me, and some of them have even 
complimented me by making me an honorary member of their 
associations. You can judge from this how numerous the let- 
ters must be that I have to transmit. 

I hope your failure to receive my reply to your letter, last 
autumn, was unattended with any disadvantage. On the sub- 
ject of the Tariff, of which your communication treated, I have 
so frequently, so fully, and so clearly expressed myself, that I 
am sure 1 could not add another new word or new idea. 

I assure you that I entertain a very high opinion of the mo- 
tives, objects, and services of the National Clay Club. Many of 
the members are my personal, and all of them my political friends. 
It would be impossible for me to regard them with any other 
feelings than those of gratitude. It is quite possible that I may- 
have received information that some of the operations of the 
Club were not as useful and beneficial as could be wished, al- 
though I have no distinct recollection of the tenor of such in- 
formation. If I ever did receive any such, it made no unfavora- 
ble impression, and created no prejudice on my mind against the 
Club. I know, in the zeal and ardor of friends, that they some- 
times erroneously estimate the value and importance of their 
respective services, and I am always ready to make allowances 
accordingly. But I deeply regret the existence of the jealousies 
and misconceptions among those between whom nothing but 
harmony and cordial co-operation should prevail. And if, as is 
to be inferred from your letter, there are any differences among 
my Philadelphia friends, I conjure you all to hasten to accom- 
modate them, and to unite, in a spirit of mutual concession and 
conciliation, as a band of brothers in the great struggle which 
is before us. Most happily, concord, harmony, and union, char- 
acterize the votaries of our cause, generally, throughout the 
Union, and I should be greatly d tinted and mortified if 

Philadelphia formed an exception. 

I am happy to inform you that the information which I h 



486 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

received, during the progress of my journey, is of the most 
cheering and satisfactory kind, every where. Even in Alaba- 
ma, of which I had entertained no hopes When I left home, our 
friends will make a great effort, and they confidently anticipate 
a victory. 





MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Raleigh, April 14, 1844. 

Dear James, — I arrived here on the 12th, very much fatigued, 
but my general health is pretty good. 

I have a note in the Branch Bank for fifteen hundred dollars, 
due about the 1st of next month. Inclosed I send you a check 
for eighteen hundred dollars, fifteen hundred of which I wish 
applied to the payment of that note, and the balance to the pay- 
ment of my interest due to the University. 

I expect to reach Washington toward the last of this month, 
and to remain there until the 4th or 5th of May, and shall be 
glad to hear from you at that place. 

Tell Thomas that there is a fair prospect of selling the bag- 
ging and rope at Savannah and Charleston, and that I adhere to 
the opinion that it is best to send them there after I get home. 

Give my love to your mamma, and tell her I will write her 
before 1 leave this place. Remember me also to Susan. 



J. SLOANE TO MR. CLAY. 

Columbus, May 9, 1844. 

Dear Sir, — Permit me to congratulate you on the happy ter- 
mination of the meeting at Baltimore, as well as the wholesome 
condition of our affairs in all parts of the Union. I have for 
some time been looking for our opponents to fall back on the 
slander of bargain and sale, etc. Foiled, as they are. in every 
thing in the way of principles and measures, it was natural that 
they should place their reliance on that which required nothing 
but assertion. 

Stale and discredited as that story is, I had rather hoped that 
our friends would have let them have the entire field to them- 
selves, and in no case agree to assume the defensive. But the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 487 

course of some of the Whigs in Congress has. perhaps, made it 
necessary to meet the enemy again on the same old field. 

In Ohio, I think this will be theii only reliance, but I can see 
nothing indicating the least success from its use. 

Were I referred to, hy some one else, I could give information 
in the case perhaps more direct than any other person. It is 
this : About the time mentioned by Buchanan, or, perhaps, soife 
earlier, I met with General Houston at Mr. Fletcher's boarding- 
house, and was accosted by him on the subject of the vote of 
Ohio. I told him there had been no general consultation among 
the members. He then observed, " What a most splendid 
Administration it would make, with ; Old Hickory' for Pres- 
ident, and Mr. Clay Secretary of State." To this I assented. 
He then went on to address himself more earnestly to me, and 
said : " I feel a strong hope you will all vote for Hickory, and 
in that event, you know your man can get any thing he may 
want.'" To all this I replied, in substance, that the vote of the 
Ohio delegation, when given, I had no doubt would be satisfac- 
tory to the citizens of the State. 

This conversation was in my full recollection at the time I 
made my statement, which was appended to your address, and 
an allusion of a general nature was made to it. Why I did not 
specify the facts as they took place, was, my knowledge of the 
relation which existed between Jackson and Houston, and the 
great probability that the latter would not dare to do other than 
deny the whole. This, in the then temper of the public mind, 
I thought might do more harm than good. What I may ulti- 
mately do in that behalf, will depend on after developments. 



THEODORE FRELIMMIl VSEN TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, May 11, 1844. 
My dear Sir, — I have been rather impatiently waiting for 
my lame arm to write a few lines to my honored friend, that I 
might express to you the heartfelt gratification that I feel at the 
recent association of my humble name with yours, a distinction 
as honorable as it has been to me surprising. And should the 
results of the fall elections confirm the nomination, of which 
there now seems very strong indications, it will, I assure you, 



188 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

be among my richest political privileges to contribute any mite 
of influence in my power to render prosperous and lasting in 
benefits the Administration of a patriot, whose elevation I have 
long desired. Our names have been brought together, here, by 
the voice of our fellow men. My prayer for you and my own 
soul shall be fervent, that, through the rich grace of our Saviour, 
they may be found written in the Book of Life of the Lamb that 
was slain for our sins. 

.My good wife, who has never ceased to cherish the hope of 
your eventual elevation to the Chief Magistracy, unites with me 
in kindest respects to Mrs. Clay and yourself. 

P. S. — My hand is still lame, and I can write only in irregu- 
lar characters. 



J. SLOANE TO MR. CLAY. 

Wooster, June 20, 1844. 

My wear Sir, — Your favor of the 14th instant, directed to me 
at Columbus, reached me at this place yesterday. Your first on 
the same subject was also duly received here. On the first 
Monday of next month it is my purpose to be at Cincinnati ; and 
I had thought of delaying my statement until then, but since the 
receipt of your last, I have determined to make it to-morrow. I 
see by the newspapers from various parts that the subject is 
being agitated ; and, in Ohio, the Locofoco candidate for Gover- 
nor is burling it from the stump. Why Governor Letcher should 
feel any delicacy about making a statement, out of any amity 
between him and Buchanan, I am at a loss to imagine. Mr. 
Buchanan, by his equivocation and want o( directness in his 
answer to Jackson's appeal, put himself beyond all claim upon 
the forbearance of any one. The manner in which he dragged 
Mr. Markley into the affair, and the cautious manner in which he 
spoke of Jackson, left it beyond dispute that it Mas his object 
that his statement should not be so understood as to do justice 
between the parties. 

When my statement reaches you, and you have that of Gov- 
ernor Letcher, you can determine how you will dispose of them. 
I always intended to make the facts known to you, if for no 



OF HENRY CLAY. 489 

other purpose than that it might go into the history of the case 
alter we have gone hen 

My opinion of the necessity of the publication I will transmit 
to you from Cincinnati. 



mr. sloane's statement. 



Wooster, June 20, 184 t. 

In December, 1S24, about the time that the choice of President 
by the House of Representatives was beginning to attract atten- 
tion at Washington, I happened in company with General Hous- 
ton, then a member of Congress from Tennessee, when the 
subject of that election was introduced by him. Although the 
subject of the Presidential election, from the time of the com- 
mencement of the canvass before the people, had been fully dis- 
cussed between us, this was the first time, after the people had 
failed to elect, that we had conversed in relation to it. General 
Houston commenced by suggesting that he supposed the Ohio 
delegation were all going to vote for General Jackson. To this 
I answered that I could not undertake to speak for them ; for, so 
far as I knew, no meeting or consultation had taken place among 
them. The manner of General Houston was anxious, and 
evinced much solicitude ; and at this point of the conversation 
lie exclaimed, " What a splendid Administration it would make, 
with Old Hickory President, and Mr. Clay Secretary of State." 
Having often before expressed to General Houston my opinion 
of the several candidates, I did not, at that time, think proper to 
repeat it : contenting myself with an implied acquiescence in the 
correctness of his declaration. 

The conversation was continued for a considerable time, and 
for the most part had relation to Western interests as connected 
with the Presidency, and was concluded by General Houston 
observing, •• Well, I hope you from Ohio will aid us in electing 
General Jackson, and then your man (meaning Mr. Clay) can 
have any thing he pleases." 

These expressions of General Houston made a strong impres- 
sion on my mind at the time, and from the relations known to 
subsist between him and General Jackson, I had not then, nor 
at any time since, a doubt but that they embodied the feelings 
of that personage ; and that it was the object of both that 
Clay and his friends should so understand it. And I have c\ 
thought that the slanderous charge of <: bargain, corruption, and 



490 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

intrigue," subsequently preferred by General Jackson against Mr. 
Clay and his friends, had its origin in the utter neglect with 
which every advance made to them by the friends of General 
Jackson was treated. 

In a letter written by me, dated at Wooster, May 9th, 1S27. 
and appended to Mr. Clay's address to the public of that year, 
I referred to "the importunity of some of General Jackson's 
friends," as indicative of a disposition to enter into a bargain. 
In that remark I had in my mind, among other things, those 
observations of General Houston. Should it now be asked why 
I did not then divulge the whole, my answer is, that although I 
held myself at all times ready to do so, if called upon, I did not 
then consider it necessary. The only question, then, before the 
public, was the charge that Mr. Clay's friends had made proposi- 
tions to Jackson for a bargain. It was to repel that charge that 
my letter above-mentioned was written ; and I chose to confine 
my statements to the nature of the issue. In attempting to sus- 
tain that issue, General Jackson most signally failed, being flatly 
contradicted by his only witness. 



MR. CLAY TO STEPHEN H. MILLER. 

Asiiland, July 1, 1844. 

My dear Sir, — I received and thank you for your friendly 
letter, and the copy of " The Monitor." You have justly con- 
ceived my meaning, when I referred, in my Texas letter, to a 
considerable and respectable portion of the Confederacy. And 
you might have strengthened your construction of the paragraph 
by reference to the fact that, at the date of my letter, the States 
of Ohio, Vermont and Massachusetts had. almost unanimously; 
declared against annexation ; the Legislature of Georgia had de- 
clined to recommend it, and other States were believed to be ad- 
verse to the measure. As to the idea of my courting the Abo- 
litionists it is perfectly absurd. No man in the United States has 
been half so much abused by them as I have been. 

I consider the Union a great political partnership: and that 
new members ought not to be admitted into the concern at the 
imminent hazard el' its dissolution. Personally I could have no 
objeetion to the annexation of Texas; but I certainly would be 
unwilling to see the existing Union dissolved or seriously j( 



OF IIKXRY CLAY. 491 

aided for the snke of acquiring Texas. Tf any one desires to 
know the leading and paramounl objeel of my public life, the 
preservation of this Union will furnish him the key. 

From developments now being made in South Carolina, it is 
perfectly manifest thai a party exists in that State seeking a dis- 
solution of the Union, and for that purpose employing the pre- 
text of the rejection of Mr. Tyler's abominable treaty. South 
. Carolina being surrounded by slave States, would, in the event 
of a dissolution of the Union, sutler only comparative evils, but 
it is otherwise with Kentucky ; she has the boundary of the 
Ohio extending four hundred miles on three free States. What 
would her condition be in the event of the greatest calamity that 
could befall this nation ? 

In Kentucky the Texas question will do the Whig cause no 
prejudice. I am glad to perceive, in the proceedings of the Clay 
Club at Tuscaloosa, a similar belief expressed as to Alabama. 
It was a bubble blown up by Mr. Tyler in the most exception- 
al ile manner, for sinister purposes, and its bursting has injured 
no body but Mr. Van Buren. 

Retaining an agreeable recollection of the pleasure which I 
derived from forming your acquaintance last Spring, I remain 
your friend and obedient servant. 



B. P. LETCHER TO MR. CLAY. 

Frankfort, July 6, 1844. 

My dear Sir, — I send you, inclosed, a short love-letter, which 
I received a day or two ago from my old friend Buck. He 
writes like a man, as you will see, who feels the force of his sub- 
ject. You can retain it until I see you. 

The more I have thought about your making a publication in 
regard to that miserable old calumny, the less inclined I am to 
think favorably of it. Every thing appears to be progressing so 
smoothly for the Whig cause, " better let it be." 



MR. BUCHANAN TO R. P. LETCHER. 

Lancaster, .Tun.- -_7, 1844. 

?.Ty dear Sir, — I have this moment received youi very kind 
letter and hasten to give it an answer. I can not perceive what 



492 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

good purpose it would subserve Mr. Clay to publish the private 
and unreserved conversation to which you refer. I was then 
his ardent friend and admirer; and much of this ancient feeling 
still survives, notwithstanding our political differences since. I 
did him ample justice, but no more than justice, both in my 
speech on Chilton's resolutions and in my letter in answer to Gen- 
eral Jackson. 

I have not myself any very distinct recollection of what trans- 
pired in your room nearly twenty years ago ; but doubtless I 
expressed a strong wish to himself, as I had done a hundred 
times to others, that he might vote for General Jackson ; and if 
he desired it, become his Secretary of State. Had he voted for 
the General, in case of his election, I should most certainly have 
exercised any influence I might have possessed to accomplish 
this result ; and this I should have done from the most disinter- 
ested, friendly and patriotic motives. 

This conversation of mine, whatever it may have been, can 
never be brought home to General Jackson. I never had but 
one conversation with him on the subject of the then pending 
election, and that upon the street, and the whole of it, ver- 
batim el literatim, when comparatively fresh upon my mem- 
ory, was given to the public in my letter of August, 1827. The 
publication, then, of this private conversation could serve no 
other purpose than to embarrass me and force me prominently 
into the pending contest — which I desire to avoid. 

You are certainly correct in your recollection. "You told me 
explicitly that you did not feel at liberty to give the conversa- 
tion alluded to, and would not do so, under any circumstances 
without my express permission." In this you acted, as you have 
ever done, like a man of honor and principle. 



J. C. WRIGHT TO MR. CLAY. 

Cincinnati, September 5, 1S44. 

My dear Sir, — On the other leaf you will find the statement 
of my conversation with Louis M'Lane, which I promised you. 
My apology for not preparing it sooner is that my engagements 
scarcely leave me a moment of leisiii 

I have your letter on the subject of the Blue Lick lie, and you 
will have seen in "The Gazette" the use made of it. I should 



OF HENRY CLAY. 493 

certainly with you have felt no little mortification, had I thought 
it necessary to call upon you to refute so improbable a calumny. 
But the charge was reiterated upon the face of my denial, and 
the proof in writing said to exist trader these circumstances, 
I thought it proper that you see the cha id have an opportu- 

nity to say if any circumstance had taken place out of which to 
fabricate the story. I know well, sir, that even the father of 
lies himself could hardly keep pace with the supporters of Polk, 
in inventing and giving circulation to lies, and I do not often 
heed them. 

Upon the whole our prospects are as favorable as when I had 
the pleasure of meeting you. Our opponents are very active 
and unscrupulous in the use of the means they employ. The 
small majority in Kentucky has been rung in all its changes 
and has passed away. Your late letter on the Texas question 
has given the rascals a new impulse. Liberty-men, Locofocos, 
and timid Whigs, use the letter as a bug-a-boo to the anti-annex- 
ation. We defend it, as in accordance with what you before said, 
and I think it will leave little injurious impression upon the minds 
of our friends. But the public mind is excited — men are con- 
federated together in appeals to the very worst passions of our 
nature, and the public mind is feverish, and unstable. This 
will not be more than a nine day's topic of vituperation. Wjth 
the old issues we are safe, depend upon it. All we want is to 
bring the voters out. 



J. C. WRIGHT TO MR. CLAY. 

Cincinnati, September 5, 1844. 
Dear Sir, — According to my promise, I give below a state- 
ment of the conversation between Mr. Louis McLane and my- 
self, relative to the election of Mr. Adams by the House of Rep- 
resentatives in 1825. W^e were both members of the House, 
and of the committee to report rules for the government of the 
House in conducting the election. He was known to be in favor 
of Mr. Crawford, and I was in favor of Mr. Adams. On the morn- 
ing of the election, he and I walked together from the Commit- 
tee room to the House, and were conversing about the prospects 
of the candidates. At the door we stopped, and he asked if we 
could elect Mr. Adams ? I answered that we could elect him, as 



49-4 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I thought, on the first ballot. I trust in God you will succeed, 
said he, and on the first ballot, and save the country from the 
curse of Jacksonism. You know I must vote for Crawford on 
the first ballot, as my State voted for him, but we all know he 
can not be elected, and I sincerely hope you will elect Mr. 
Adams. We separated, and took our seats. In a short time the 
vote was taken, and Mr. Adams got the votes of thirteen States, 
and was declared duly elected. 

This is the substance of the conversation, if not the very 
words. Mr. McLane spoke openly, with energy, and I thought, 
sincerely. 



AIR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE. 

Ashland, September 19, 1844. 

My dear Sir, — Many thanks for your obliging letter of the 
11th inst., and for its interesting contents. It demonstrates very 
great and patriotic activity on the part of the Commercial Com- 
mittee, and I hope that the success of its labors may correspond 
with its good intentions. We feel the greatest anxiety about the 
issue of your Governor's election, and our intelligence concern- 
ing it is somewhat conflicting. 

You are aware that there is a Whig Committee at Washing- 
ton, consisting of the Hon. Messrs. Garrett Davis and Willis 
Green, the object of which is to distribute documents, of which 
a great many have been sent to Pennsylvania. I understand the 
funds of the Committee are getting low, and if you should have 
any surplus in your exchequer, they will be very glad to receive 
some assistance. 

I should be very happy should it be in my power to serve 
your house with the sugar planters of Louisiana, and I authorize 
you at any time to refer them to my name. 



MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Ashland, October 26, 1844. 
My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 18th instant, 
communicating your desire to prepare and compose a work, to 
be entitled, " The Life and Times of Henry Clay," and you in- 
vite an expression of my opinion of such an undertaking, and 



OF EENBY CLAY. 495 

the contribution of any materials toward it in my possession. 
Such ;i work, truly and faithfully written, might be made very 
interesting. But every tiling will depend upon its execution. I 
believe you possess sufficient abilitj to perform the task, if you 
have sufficient time and sufficient materials. However, this is 
a moment of loo great interest and excitement either to decide 
d( finitely upon the propriety of such a work, or for nie to make 
now any contributions toward its composition. I hope we shall 
both live some years yet, and have many opportunities of see- 
ing and conferring with each other upon the subject, after 
which we can come to a satisfactory conclusion. 

A few weeks more will decide the arduous contest in which 
we have been engaged, and if I am to credit the confident as- 
surances which I receive from all quarters, there is no doubt of 
a triumphant result. 

My health is excellent, although I write by the hand of an 
amanuensis. 



THEODORE FRELINGHTJYSEN TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, November 9, 181 1. 

My dear Sir, — I address you this morning with very differ- 
ent feelings from my expectations a few weeks ago. The alli- 
ance of the foreign vote, and that most impracticable of all 
organizations, the Abolitionists, have defeated the strongest na- 
tional vote ever given to a Presidential candidate. The Whigs 
in this city and State have struggled most nobly. All classes 
of \merican citizens have ardently, cordially, and with the freest 
sacrifices, contended for your just claims to patriotic confidence, 
and could you this morning behold the depression of spirits 
and sinking of hearts that pervade the community, I am sure 
that you would feel, "Well, in very truth, my defeat has been 
the occasion of a more precious tribute and vindication than even 
the majority of numbers." 

The Abolitionists were inimicably obstinate, and seemed re- 
solved to distinguish their importance, right or wrong. The 
combination of adverse circumstances has often struck me in the 
progress of the canvass. At the South, I was denounced as an 
Abolitionist, rank and uncompromising. Here, the Abolitionisms 
have been rancorous in their hostility. A short time since, 



496 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

William Jay (of illustrious name) assailed me in his Anti-Sla- 
very prints, by a harsh, unchristian, and intolerant article, in the 
form of a letter addressed to me, but sent to the winds. Its 
object was, no doubt, to drive the party together, and it had, 1 
suppose, some influence that way, although it was too bitter and 
irrational to accomplish much. And then the foreign vote was 
tremendous. More than three thousand, it is confidently said, 
have been naturalized in this city, alone, since the first of Oc- 
tober. It is an alarming fact, that this foreign vote has deci- 
ded the great questions of American policy, and counteracted a 
nation's gratitude. 

But, my dear sir, leaving this painful subject, let us look 
away to brighter and better prospects, and surer hopes, in the 
promises and consolations of the Gospel of our Saviour. As sin- 
ners who have rebelled against our Maker, we need a Saviour* 
or we must perish, and this Redeemer has been provided 
for us. Prophecy declared him from the earliest period of 
our fall, in Paradise, and the Gospel makes known the faith- 
ful fulfillment. " Come unto me," cries this exalted Saviour, 
"come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest." Let us, then, repair to Him. He 
will never fail us in the hour of peril and trial. Vain is the 
help of man, and frail and fatal all trust in the arm of flesh ; but 
he that trusteth in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion itself, that 
can never be removed. I pray, my honored friend, that your 
heart may seek this blessed refuge, stable as the everlasting 
hills, and let this be the occasion to prompt an earnest, prayer- 
ful, and the Lord grant it may be a joyful, search after truth as 
it is in Jesus Christ. 

With affectionate regards to Mrs. Clay, in which my good 
wife, sorely tried, heartily unites, I remain with sincere esteem 
and best wishes, your friend.* 

* It is thought proper to introduce a few of the very large file of letters to Mr 
Clay on the disappointment at his defeat as candidate for the Presidency in 1844, 
of which the above from Mr. Frelinghuysen, the candidate for the Vice-Prcei 
dency, on the ticket with Mr. Clay, is one. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 497 



THOMAS H. BAIHD TO MR. CLAY. 

PrrraBCRG, November "0, lsii. 

My dear Sir, — The result of the late elections, although dis- 
astrous to the country, yet, when properly examined, furnishes a 
proud vindication of your principles and fame. No man ever 
before received so glorious a testimonial. I beli ■ , in fact, you 
had a majority of the legal votes throughout the Union. One 
thing, however, is certain. You had nine tenths of the virtue, 
intelligence, and respectability of the nation on your side. We 
failed in obtaining your election through the fraud and false- 
hood of our opponents, who will soon feel the effects of their 
folly and crime. The defeat is nothing to you ; it is the people 
who are to be the sufferers, until delusion is dispelled, and they 
rise in their strength to cast off the oppressors. 

I have no doubt that the principles which you have so long 
and so ably struggled to maintain, will at last be triumphant. 
They are identified with your person and character, and must 
be vindicated. 



MILLARD TDLLMORE TO MR. CLAY. 

Ecffalo, Nbvemtierll, 1844. 
My dear Sir, — I have thought for three or four days that I 
would write you, but really I am unmanned. I have no courage 
or resolution. All is gone. The last hope, which hung first 
upon the city of New York and then upon Virginia, is finally 
dissipated, and I see nothing but despair depicted on every conn- 

« 

tenaucc. 

For myself I have no regrets. I was nominated much against 
my will, and though not insensible to the pride of success, yet 1 
feci a kind of relief at being defeated. But not so for you or 
for the nation. Every consideration of justice, every feeling of 
gratitude conspired in the minds of honest men to insure your 
election ; and though always doubtful of my own success I could 
never doubt yours, till the painful conviction was forced upon 
me. 

The Abolitionists and foreign Catholics have defeated us in 
this State. I will not trust myself to speak of the vile hypoc- 

32 



498 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

risy of the leading Abolitionists now. Doubtless many acted 
honestly but ignorantly in what they did. But it is clear that 
Birney and his associates sold themselves to Locofocoism, and 
they will doubtless receive their reward. 

Our opponents, by pointing to the Native Americans and to 
Mr. Frelinghuysen, drove the foreign Catholics from us and de- 
feated us in this State. 

Bat it is vain to look at the causes by which this infamous result 
has been produced. It is enough to say that all is gone, and I 
must confess that nothing has happened to shake my confidence in 
our ability to sustain a free Government so much as this. If with 
such issues and such candidates as the national contest presented, 
we can be beaten, what may we not expect ? A cloud of gloom 
hangs over the future. May God save the country ; for it is evi- 
dent the people will not. 



J. J. CRITTENDEN TO MR. CLAT. 

Frankfort, November 13, 1844. 
My dear Sir, — The intelligence brought to us this morning 
has terminated all our hopes, our suspense, and our anxieties, in 
respect to the Presidential election. We now know the worst. 
Polk is elected, and your friends have sustained the heaviest 
blow that could have befallen them. You will feel, I trust, no 
other concern about it than that which naturally arises from your 
sympathy with those friends. You are, perhaps, the only man 
in the nation that can lose nothing by the result. Success could 
have added nothing to your name, and nothing, I believe, to 
your happiness. You occupy now, but too truly, the position 
described as presenting the noblest of human spectacles — 

" A great man struggling with the storms of fate, 
And nobly falling with a falling state." 



C. L. L. LEARY TO MR. CLAY. 

Baltimore, November 14, 1844. 

Dear Sir, — The inexpressible agony which the result of the 
recent contest has caused me, has left me no other source of 
relief than the one which I have here chosen. 1 beg you, sir, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 499 

to accept this as a sufficient apology for this intrusion. I am too 
well acquainted with your character to suppose that this result 
will affect you as it has affected yourfriends. That consciousness 
of purity of motive and of unbending rectitude, which has sus- 
tained you on former occasions, when the honor and prosperity 
of your country were the objects which alone you aimed at, and 
when your designs were purposely misconstrued by the envy 
and vindictive malice of your enemies, will still support you in 
this trying crisis ; and in the patriotic efforts and ardent personal 
devotion of your friends, you will, I feel assured, realize enjoy- 
ments which all the honors of public station would fail to bestow. 
Whatever may have been the impelling considerations in the 
breasts of others, I am free to confess that " Justice to Henry 
Clay," rather than the behests of public duty, was the ruling 
motive which prompted me to the humble part I acted in the 
late conflict. Amid the gloom and chagrin of defeat, I de- 
voutly thank God that the family with which I am connected, 
including a father and four sons, native-born American citizens, 
and competent voters, have not been reckless of the duty they 
owed to you and to their country, and that our beloved and. 
venerated old Maryland, with a devotion that has never faltered 
when the true issue has been presented to her sous, has pro- 
claimed trumpet-tongued to the world her confidence in your 
integrity, and her stern adherence to constitutional principles. I 
console myself, too, (and to you it must be a source of unfailing 
gratulation), that 1 find myself arrayed in this contest on the 
same side with the enlightened intelligence, virtue, and patriot- 
ism of the Union, with the line of discrimination so broadly and 
vividly drawn, that ' ; the wayfaring man," though a fool in other 
matters, "need not err therein." Whatever partial triumphs we 
have won. have been achieved by honest American hearts, and 
with unstained American hands ; no levies have been made upon 
the prisons and lazar-housesof Europe ; no Canadian mercenaries 
or Hessian auxiliaries have been either pressed or purchased into 
our service ; you are the only choice of the great American party, 
standing upon a broad American platform, supported and de- 
pendent upon an American Constitution, as framed, understood, 
and construed by the Patriot Fathers of the Republic. We are 
told in Holy Writ that ' ; The wicked walk on every side, when 
the vilest men are exalted ;" and in this humiliating posture We 
now find American affairs. The very fountain of our political 



500 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

system, from whence all authority and power flow, is revoltingly 
corrupt. The ballot-box is poisoned by gross ignorance and 
wanton perjury. The ermine of justice is spotted, and the 
judicial bench disgraced by undisguised partisan conduct, that in 
the better days of the Republic would have condemned the actors 
to merited infamy. To what source, then, are we to look for 
deliverance ? Alas, sir, I only speak as hundreds of American 
Whigs this moment feel, when I say that I shudder for the fate 
of my country. I know that numbers of your fellow-citizens, of 
the class to which I belong, have opposed your elevation, and it 
is because I keenly feel the reproach which this fact awakens, 
that I have thus ventured to address you. But be assured, sir, 
that wherever yon have a friend you will find friendship worth 
possessing, flowing from warm hearts, whose every affection is 
yours, and wholly yours. You may never again permit your- 
self to be called upon the stage of public life ; but whatever 
course your sense of duty may urge you to take, I fervently 
trust that the Common Father of us all may lavish his choicest 
blessings upon your declining years, and that, amid the content- 
ment which retirement from political turmoil brings, you will 
recognize Maryland, Kentucky, and their sister Whig States, as 
having heartily accorded to you that tribute of justice and gra- 
titude which an ungrateful country has failed to bestow. 



P. S. GALPIN AND OTHERS TO MR. CLAY. 

New Haven, Conn., November 16, IS 11. 

Sir, — It is with much pleasure that we execute the duty as- 
signed to us by the Wnigs of this city, of transmitting to you 
the inclosed proceedings of a meeting held by them, on the eve- 
ning of the 14th inst.; but this pleasure is mingled with the 
deepest regret, that we can not hail you, as we had fondly hoped, 
as President of these United States. The deplorable result of 
the late election, has here, as every where, filled the hearts of 
your Whig friends with pain and mortification, and this feeling 
has not been confined to the voters only, but has extended itself 
through all ages, sexes, and conditions, from " lisping infancy to 
hoary age." 

We were not aware, until we saw our anticipations of your 



OF HENBY CLAY. 501 

success blighted, how strong a hold you had upon our affections, 
and we uow feel that you are Preside l! in the hearts of a vast 
majority of the intelligent and patriotic citizens of the country, 
where you can never be defeated, and where the poisonous shafts 
of calumny can never reach yon. Had you been called to assume 
the reponsibilities of the office of Chief Magistrate of the Union, 
we feel sure that the most eminent success in the discharge of its 
duties could not have increased your fame, or led us to cherish 
any warmer feelings than we now entertain for your character 
and public services. 

We are proud, sir, of our city, for the vote she gave you, 
which was larger than ever given before to any candidate in a 
contested election, and we are proud of our State ; that amid all 
the deceptions and slanders which have marked the course of 
our opponents throughout the late contest, she has given you a 
majority worthy of her character, and of the intelligence of her 
citizens. 

May your valuable life, dear sir, be spared through many years 
to bless the country you have so greatly honored, and whose in- 
terest in times of danger you have so often and so nobly upheld. 



AMBROSE SPENCER TO MR. CLAY. 

Albany, November 21, 184L 

My dear Friend, — I can no longer resist the inclination which 
impels me to commune with you on the disastrous results of the 
efforts of the Whig party to do justice to you for your long and 
signal services to your country, by placing you at the head of 
the nation. 

It is pretty well ascertained that had New York given you 
her vote, you would have been elected. Tbis consideration is 
very mortifying to us ; and yet, I venture to affirm, that in no 
State of the Union had you warmer, or more \i_ r ilant and vigor- 
ous supporters. Everything that could be effected by human 
means was done. I know many, very many men, who laid 
aside all other business, and devoted th< night and day 

in the good cause. The result of our iss shows what 

mighty efforts have been made. ¥ou received 232,411 votes; 
Polk received 237,432; Birney, 15,875. What a 
poll. You received 6,594 more votes than Harrison did in 1840, 



502 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

when his majority exceeded 13.000. You will perceive that 
the Abolition vote lost you the election, as three fourths of them 
were firm Whigs, converted into Abolitionists. The foreign 
vote also destroyed your election, and there was yet another dis- 
tinct cause : the utter mendacity, frauds, and villainies of Loco- 
focoism. This untoward event has produced universal gloom, 
and has shaken public confidence to an unexpected extent. 
Even many of those who voted for Polk, now that he is elected, 
deeply regret the result. God only knows to what we are des- 
tined. One sentiment seems to prevail universally, that the nat- 
uralization laws must be altered ; that they must be repealed, 
and the door forever shut on the admission of foreigners to cit- 
izenship, or that they undergo a long probation. I am for the 
former. 

The Germans and the Irish are in the same category ; the one 
who know not our language, and are as ignorant as the lazaroni 
of Italy, can never understandingly exercise the franchise ; and 
the other, besides their ignorance, are naturally inclined to go 
with the loafers of our own population. 

I offer you not any condolence at this sad event; the country, 
not you, are the sufferers. Undoubtedly, your election would 
have been deeply gratifying to your feelings, as the award of 
your countrymen on your long, unwearied, and splendid public 
services. You have been spared the toils of four years hard 
service, which could not have raised you higher in the affections 
and confidence of your friends and admirers. . Your Adminis- 
tration would have put at rest all contention on the duty and ne- 
cessity of protecting American industry ; on the distribution of 
the proceeds of the public lands, and on many other vexed ques- 
tions, which are now set afloat and put in jeopardy. In yielding 
my hearty support to the Whig cause, you are aware that I had 
no earthly motive but the public good. I confess that in doing 
all I could to promote your election, there was an additional 
motive : the deep respect and affection I felt for you individually, 
founded on your public services, and on those personal qualities 
which, on our first acquaintance, took a lodgment in my heart, 
never to be effaced. 

That you may live long to enjoy, in any situation Providence 
may place you, the continued love and confidence of your coun- 
trymen, and all the blessings of this life, is my fervent prayer. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 503 

WILLIAM C. PRESTON* TO MR. CLAY. 

Columbia, November 23, 1811. 
Dear Sir, — My sense of the public calamity has, for some 
days, absorbed all emotions and affections of a private or personal 
character. I have been astonished with the result of the elec- 
tions. The ways of nations, like those of Providence, are some- 
times mysterious and inscrutable ; and what our country has just 
done is of this sort. With the deepest interest in whatever con- 
cerns you personally, I have been solely occupied with these 
gloomy and portentous occurrences. What do they forebode to 
the country ? As for you, they affect you in nowise but as 
depriving you of the means of further patriotic usefulness. You 
have long since passed that point when office could confer ad- 
ditional celebrity, or add an inch to the noble pre-eminence 
which history will assign to you. Though your name will not 
appear in the dull chronology of official succession, the times 
will be known as those in which the wisdom, courage and elo- 
cpience of Clay were displayed for the glory of his country. The 
time will come when all will be ashamed of these transactions. 
May God protect us from occasion to mourn over them in sorrow 
and bitterness of repentance. It would be vain and painful to 
speculate on the causes which have led to this result. The con- 
sequences of it will soon occupy the utmost anxieties of the 
country. For the present the Whig party of the South is dis- 
persed ; and we can not know our position until the heat and 
smoke of the conflict have passed away. In the mean time I 
content myself with the thought that I have (in however subor- 
dinate a station) fought the battle of the country under your 
standard, and am entitled to subscribe myself, etc. 



CHRISTOPHER HUGHES TO MR. CLAY. 

LoNDOW, -\ <>vember 27, 1844. 
My dear Mr. Clay ; my chief, my old master, my venerated 
and beloved friend ! 

In an hour I shall be in the steamer for Rotterdam and the 

* After the brilliant career of the Hon. Wm. <'. Preston, as -•■■nntor of the Tint- 
ed States, and at the Bar, he retired to the honorable and dignified Chair of 
President of Columbia College, South Carolina. 



504 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Hague. I am literally packing my trunk, and in great confusion !. 
But I shall be too late to write from Holland by the steamer of 
the 4th December, and I will not lose a moment in conveying 
to you the heartfelt emotion, amazement, and grief with which 
I have received the news, just arrived, of the result of the Presi- 
dential election. Great God ! is it possible! Have our people 
given this astonishing, this alarming proof of the madness to 
which party frenzy can cany them ! England is astounded ; 
on all hands I hear amazement, sorrow, uneasiness expressed ; 
for in you and on your election depends, in the minds of this 
people and Government, the maintenance of harmony and peace- 
ful relations between the two nations. The hopes of the wise 
and of the worthy of the New and of the Old World, rested 
(and seem to rest — no, now no more, for it is over) upon you. 
But I can not, if I would, dwell upon this matter. My heart is 
sad ; and my time is up for embarking. 

Let me, my beloved old friend, approach you in your defeat, 
with my ancient, my trup, my invariable love, confidence, de- 
votion and esteem ; ay ! let me add — and my admiration and 
honor. Since our first acquaintance in 1814, when we left our 
country to send home peace to our people, I have never — no, 
never — deserted you, in thought, in heart, or in deed ! Never 
have I disguised my preference, my respect, my love and admi- 
ration for you ; and I have prized, as the greatest success and 
honor of my life, your friendship for me, and the cheerful, ami- 
able, playful, affectionate familiarity that you have always per- 
mitted and tolerated in me, your pupil and your friend. I know 
you have always loved me and trusted me. My eyes now run 
over — before God they do ! — with the recollection of your affec- 
tion and fondness for me, my great and good friend ! I am 
weeping — as we both did, when comparatively young men — on 
the 2d December, 1814, the day we signed the peace of Ghent 
— when yon threw your arms around my neck in bidding me 
adieu, seeing how sad I was; and exclaimed — "Hughes! my 
friend, what is the matter with you? I see that you are un- 
happy." I said that I was mortified at finding, that in the last 
"dispatches" to the Government at home (which I myself had 
copied, and was to bear home with the treaty), there was no 
mention of my name by my ministers, whom I had servi 1 with 
so much zeal, fidelity, and honor — that this mortified and pained 
me. You told me there had been such a sentence at the close 



OF BENET CI, AY. 505 

of the last dispatch, that if had been erased as not ] ' - 

longing to ' ■•• document, and wa I II your pri- 

vate letters to the Secretary of Sine, and to Mr. Madison, that 
admirable and incomparable man, whom I knew and lo 
This did nol appease me, and I said. Go 1 < : d! arc not the 
character and conduct of public s hen they are ru 

able, proper in the public and published archives of the country? 
But I loved you, my excellent and kind-hearted friend, for the 
kindness and tenderness of your conduct. You embraced me — 
you wept like a child — your heart was full of the pride and 
pleasure and comfort of having achieved peace fox your coun- 
try, and you did more at that Congress than any other of its 
members, by your tact, your discretion, your moderation, your 
angelic self-command, and your incomparable manner : you did 
m 'ore — and I say it, and will bear this witness before the world 
— than any other, to bestow this most blessed of boons, this 
God-like gift, Peace among men ; for, like the harmony of 
heaven, it passeth all understanding ! You wept like a child on 
taking leave of me ; you thought of your country, of your fam- 
ily, of your excellent wife, of your then — alas ! no longer so — 
numerous family of young children ; of me, who was leaving 
you in Europe, and about to embark in the dead of winter, and 
in a schooner (I was sixty days on the voyage), for our awful 
and dangerous coast ! Your heart — and a kinder and a more 
affectionate one never filled the bosom of mortal man — your 
heart was full, and you wept like a child, as I do now, my dear 
Mr. Clay, in recalling this scene ! We were alone, in the cor- 
ridor of old Madame Van Canegheu's house (for you had fol- 
lowed me out of the room, seeing how sad I was), where we 
had dined after signing the Treaty at the British Minister's — you, 
my chief, had signed your last dispatch, at Mine. Van C.'s, 
which I was to bear; and the good old lady thought it was "the 
Treaty." and the pen you used is in a gl case in her house, 
sacredly preserved to this day ; I ! ■•••. Van C. continued to 
believe that the peace bad 1 made under her roof, and 

boasted of it till her death, twenty-fr r land showed 

me proudly :i the precie !" But [ must stop. May God 

forever bless you ! May he i yon long for your country ! 

No man now — I say. no man knows yon as well as I do ! 
not one ! and I ever have loved and Esteemed you, and it is my 
pride to feel — so have you me. Why, I could see comfort in 



506 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

your heart and manner whenever I have been with you. You 
seemed to feel as if there was a safety, an ease, a pleasing secu- 
rity, when I was with you. Again and again, may God bless 
and preserve you. I write incoherently : you would not believe 
my emotion. My head is confused. 

I send this letter open to my beloved Joseph Ingersoll. I can 
not write to him. You know how I love and esteem him. You 
know how I have written of him to you. He will read and 
send you this letter. I know not, and never have known, a bet- 
ter man than J. R. Ingersoll. I have not written to you twice 
in two vearsX I shall do so now. I will never desert you. I 
will love you ; honor you away, and cheer you when at home, 
as I suppose I shall be soon. I have been in Ireland, to see my 
good brother-in-law, Colonel Moore. His health is better. He 
returns to the United States next May. He was heart and soul 
for you in the election. My silence proceeded from low spirits ; 
I have shaken them off, and my health and my heart are sound 
and stout. 

I passed an hour with Mr. Goulburne (Chancellor of Excheq- 
euer) day before the fatal news. He asked for you, and sends 
respects to you. He received me most affectionately. I never 
was treated with more kindness than now in England. No time 
to read this. While I live I am yours. 



P. H. SYLVESTER AND OTHERS TO MR. CLAY. 

Coxsackie, November 11, 1844. 

Dear Sir, — I write to you in behalf of the Coxsackie Clay 
Club. The man who said "that he stood firm and erect, un- 
bent, unbroken, unsubdued, unawed, and ready to denounce the 
mischevious measures of General Jackson's Administration," 
needs no sympathy from us. 

It is from the gushing out and fullness of our hearts that we 
say to you that you have been our political idol, and that we es- 
teem you as highly, and love you as dearly as we ever have 
done — in defeat, more than in victory — we can not say more, 
how can we say less ? 

When Ave were convinced that we were defeated, we felt as 
if we had no country, and' that all that we considered as most 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 507 

sacred and most cherished by us in it, was wrested from us by 
the insult that was offered to our own great and honest "Harry 
of the West." 

There is one consolation to us, however, and that is, that your 
name will live. Yes, it must, it shall live forever, in undying, 
honorable fame. The measure of your glory was full to over- 
flowing, and if success had crowned our exertions, Mould it have 
woven another wreath in the garland of fame that encircles your 
brow ? Not one. 

Your nomination was but the spontaneous and unanimous out- 
breaking of the feelings of a great majority of the intelligent and 
patriotic freemen of the land. By them you have been supported 
with the whole heart and soul and strength, with an intensity of 
feeling and exertion almost unparalleled, and every Whig heart is 
stricken down, and mourns that the Republic has exhibited such 
an instance of ingratitude. 

We do not wish to burden you with our correspondence, but 
permit us to say in conclusion, that Henry Clay is more than 
ever beloved by his countrymen, and that posterity will do him 
justice. Our discomfiture only increases our respect and admi- 
ration for your character, and gratitude for your services. We 
point with unutterable pride to the fact that we cast our votes 
for the man " who would rather be right, than be President." 

In behalf of each member of the Association, I tender you 
sentiments of affection, respect, and undiminished confidence 
and esteem. 

Let me say for myself individually, may Almighty God bless 
you, may he lift upon you the light of his reconciled counte- 
nance, and prepare you for an abundant entrance into the abodes 
of more than mortal freedom. 



PHILIP HONE TO MR. CL \Y. 

\ ! w York, November 2S, 1844. 
My dear Sir, — I hesitate and doubt whether I ought to add to 
the annoyance which I know you experience at this time, but I 
can not deny myself the privilege of writing to you, not to con- 
dole with you on your recent defeat, I know you feel little regret 
on your own account, but to give vent to my own sorrow, to de- 
plore the infatuation of my countrymen, and to mingle my prayers 



508 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

with yours, that the evils we anticipate from the unexpected re- 
sult of the late election may be averted, and the people made 
happy against their own wayward wills. 

You, and the holy cause of which you were the honored repre- 
sentative, have been sacrificed to fraud, corruption and misrepre- 
sentation, and the instruments used to effect the object were 
foreign voters made to order, and mischievous sectarians, who 
prefer to trust the success of their theory to the uncertain meas- 
ures of an untried Administration than to one pledged to support 
the glorious Constitution and to maintain its guarantees. 

The result of this election has satisfied me that no such man 
as Henry Clay can ever be President of the United States. The 
party leaders, the men who make Presidents, will never consent 
to elevate one greatly their superior ; they suffer too .much by 
the contrast, their aspirations are checked, their power is circum- 
scribed, the clay can not be moulded into an idol suited to their 
worship. Moreover, a statesman, prominent as you have been 
for so long a time, must have been identified with all the lead- 
ing measures affecting the interests of the people, and those in- 
terests are frequently different in the several parts of our widely 
extended country. What is meat in one section is poison in 
another. Give me, therefore, a candidate of an inferior grade, 
one whose talents, patriotism and public services have never been 
so conspicuous as to force him into the first ranks. He will get 
all the votes which the best and wisest man could secure, and 
some, which for the reasons I have stated, he could not. 

But the especial object of my writing is to remove any un- 
favorable impressions (if such there be) from your mind as to the 
miserable result here. The loss of New York was fatal to the 
cause of the Whigs, but I pray you, dear sir. to attribute no part 
of this misfortune to a want of exertion on the part of your 
friends in the city of New York. Never before did they work 
so faithfully, and never, I fear, will they again ; the man and the 
cause were equally dear to the noble Whigs, and every honorable 
exertion was made, every personal sacrifice submitted to, every 
liberal oblation poured upon the altar of patriotic devotion ; nine- 
tenths of our respectable citizens voted for Clay and Frelinghuy- 
sen, the merchants, the professional men, the mechanics and 
working men, all such as live by their skill and the labor of their 
who have wives whom they cherish and children 
whom they trive to educate p : ike good citizens, men who 



OF HENRY CLAY. 509 

go to church on Sunda;, ect the laws and love their coun- 

try, such men to the number of twenty-six thousand three hun- 
dr< d and eighty-five redeemed their pledge to God and the 

■ try; but alas! the mini I '_ r lh lies nut in those i 

Foreigners who have "no lot or inheritance" in the matter, have 
robbed us of our birth-light, the "scepter has depart) d from I - 
rael." Ireland has re-conquered the country which E 
lost, but never suffer yourself to believe that a single trace of the 
name of Henry Clay is obliterated from the swelling hearts of 
the Whigs of New York. 



MR. CLAY TO REV. J. M. PENDLETON. 

AsnLAND, November 29, 1814. 

Ml dear Sir, — My feelings prompt me to offer you my cor- 
dial acknowledgments for your friendly letter of the 21st instant. 
I entertain sentiments of the liveliest gratitude for the kind in- 
terest you have taken and continue to cherish in me. And I 
am greatly obliged by the desire you manifest that I should 
seek, in the resources of religion, consolation for all the vexa- 
tions and disappointments of life. I hope you will continue 
your prayers for me, since I trust I am not altogether unworthy 
of them. I have long been convinced of the paramount im- 
portance of the Christian religion. I have, for many years, fer- 
vently sought its blessings. I shall persevere in seeking them, 
and I hope, ultimately, to attain a firm faith and confidence in 
its promises. There is nothing for which I feel so anxious. 
May God, in bis infinite mercy, grant what I so ardently desire. 

Should you pass this way, at any time, I shall be most happy 
to see you. Meanwhile, accept my thanks and my wishes for 
your happiness, here and hereafter. 



JOHN H. WESTWOOD TO MR. CLAY. 

r.ALTiMoitK, November 28, 1844. 
Respected Sir, — Now that the Presidential contest is over, 
and the disastrous result is known, I can address you without 
the fear of selfishness, or a desire of ingratiating myself to your 
notice for personal motives. 



510 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. 

I was one of your early and fast friends, and have stood by 
you in all the phases of political strife. I imbibed those predi- 
lections from a knowledge of your history, which is identified 
with the glory, prosperity, and happiness of our country. My 
venerated father who was a Whig of the Revolution, and who 
recently died at the advanced age of ninety-four, was likewise 
your constant and fast friend — perhaps it is owing to his admi- 
ration of you that mine has been engendered. I well recollect 
in the family circle while a boy, sitting around the domestic 
hearth, hearing my father recount your patriotic deeds. One 
sentence from a speech of yours, " The colors that float from the 
mast head should be the credentials of our seamen/' was indeli- 
bly fixed on my mind. Then judge my deep mortification and 
disappointment to find the sailors' friend, the master-spirit of the 
late war, "the noblest Roman of them all," rejected by the 
American people, and such a man as James K. Polk placed in 
the Presidential chair. Did I say American people ? I recall 
that expression, for two-thirds of the native freemen of the 
United States are your fast friends. Yes, sir, we love you now 
better than ever ; and when the name of Jackson and others of 
your vile traducers shall be forgotten, yours shall be remembered 
and live in the affections of all lovers of liberty. 

It was foreign influence aided by the Irish and Dutch vote 
that caused our defeat. As a proof, in my native city alone, in 
the short space of two months there were over one thousand 
naturalized. Out of this number nine-tenths voted the Locofoco 
ticket. Thus men who could not speak our language were 
made citizens and became politicians too, who at the polls were 
the noisy revilers of your fair fame — thus you have been well 
rewarded for the interest you ever took for the oppressed of 
other nations. Notwithstanding the ingratitude of the Irish and 
German voters, if the Abolitionists of New York had done their 
duty, all would have been well. 



WILLIAM D. LEWIS TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, November 30, 1844. 

My dear Friend, — After the dreadful battle is over, and, as I 

believe, most foully won by our opponents, I feel as if it would 

be some relief to my mind to express to you the deep grief with 

which the result lias penetrated my heart. I do not class my- 



OF HENRY OLAY. 511 

self, in this respect, in the general list of your : - hosts of friends" 
throughout the country, for I am sure that, earnestly and truly 
as I know- you to be admired and beloved by the hest portion of 
your fellow-citizens, there are but a very small number who can 
realize as much sorrow on the presenl occasion as myself. Not 
that I expected, or had obtruded myself, while success seemed 
certain, into a position to expect, that I should have sought any 
personal benefit from that victory which I hoped and believed 
was about to reward your long and faithful services to your 
country ; but that the kindnesses I had received from you in 
early life had indelibly stamped your image on my heart, and 
that your views of public policy so entirely accorded with the 
dictates of my matured judgment, that I looked to your elevation 
to the Presidency as a great personal delight to myself, and the 
harbinger of long-continued prosperity to the nation. 

This glorious and beneficial result has been prevented through 
wicked and unprincipled men, by frauds upon the elective fran- 
chise, as monstrous as they are unprecedented ; by fanaticism 
both religious and political, without a parallel in our history ; 
and by a stolidity on the part of large masses of our population, 
which must go far to convince the most skeptical that there may 
be truth in the apothegm of monarchists, that the people are 
incapable of self-government. 

All is now past. Regrets are unavailing. You will meet the 
untoward event as you have met all the dark hours which have 
preceded it in your eventful life — with manly fortitude and resig- 
nation. And viewing it in a philosophic light, you have, in 
fact, lost nothing. The honor attained would have brought with 
it an accumulation of cares, difficulties, and responsibilities : the 
unreasonable expectations of many of your supporters must have 
been disappointed, and perhaps some of your friendships have 
been thereby embittered. Your reputation as a statesman and 
a patriot remains untouched, or is rendered by the attrition of 
your slanderers even more brilliant, still commanding as it has 
long commanded, the admiration of the world. Whatever pa- 
triotic achievements you might have accomplished in the four 
years to come could have added comparatively little to those of 
the forty years which are gone by. 



512 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



A. B. ROMAN TO MR. CLAY. 

Parish of St. James, December 2, 1844, 
Dear Sir, — At the very moment that I learned the disastrous 
result of the Presidential contest, I determined to write to yon ; 
but I soon perceived that I felt too strongly to express myself 
with any thing like calmness, and on that account I have delayed 
till now to condole with you on our unexpected misfortune. 

To you, personally, I have no consolation to offer. I know 
that you need none, for in your defeat you have lost nothing — 
nothing more than I and every other American citizen has lost. 
You have, by your want of success, obtained this advantage, 
that your fellow-citizens may say openly what they think of 
you, without being suspected of interested motives. You have 
done enough for fame ; the station of President could have added 
nothing to yours. The country alone was to have been bene- 
fited by your election. When posterity shall wonder that you 
did not obtain the first office in the gift of your countrymen, the 
only answer that can be given must raise you higher than the 
office could ever have done : it is 'because " he had rather be 
right than President." 

But what must posterity say of the people of the Union ? 
What are we henceforward to expect from a people, when a 
constitutional majority has been found to reject the Whig doc- 
trines, of which you have always been the representative and 
able interpreter, and to decide in favor of the principles — or, 
rather, the want of principles — with which we have been cursed 
for more than fifteen years ? That the majority should some- 
times be deceived in the effects and results of abstract theories, 
is nothing more than can be expected from the frailty of human 
nature ; but that they should not form a correct opinion of facts, 
that the distressful experience of fifteen years of demagogueism 
and barefaced corruption should not open their eyes, is truly de- 
grading to our national character. Arc the hopes which the fram- 
ers of our Government have given to the friends of liberty 
throughout the world to end but in a splendid proof of the inca- 
pacity of men for self-government? I begin to fear that it must 
be so, unless we can succeed in the almost hopeless task of re- 
tracing some of the destructive steps we have taken ; unless we 
find the means of restoring the lost sanctity of the ballot-box. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 513 

DR. MERCER TO MR. CLAY. 

Nbw Orleans, December 7, 18-11. 
My dear Friend, — T received your letter a few days ago, and 
soon after our arrival in town. It was a melancholy pleasure to 
hear from you. 

The late election has mortified and distressed me more t)' 
I will attempt to express. Your friends are almost without ho: 
while you have consolations in abundance that are denied them. 
No one can deny, that without office or power, you are the first 
man in our country. It was Lord Ormonde, I think, who said 
he preferred his dead Ossory to the living son of any man in Eu- 
rope. 

I have never before witnessed such disappointment, distress, 
and disgust. The feeling seemed to pervade all classes. I have 
heard men of the opposite faction express their regret at the 
success of their party. A gray-headed man assured me that he 
could not restrain his tears. My own child wept bitterly. If, 
as I believe, you prefer reputation to power, and the approbation 
of the victorious and intelligent to the dignity of office, you 
have rather gained than lost by the defeat of your party.. I can 
readily understand that you feel more for your country and your 
friends than for yourself. 

Come then among them, my dear friend, you will find none 
elsewhere truer or warmer than those of Mississippi or of this 
place. Among the rest, it will afford me the greatest pleasure 
to see you here, for in this respect I will yield to none of them. 
Your old apartment is ready for you, and every one of the fam- 
ily would feci mortified if you were less at home with us than 
at your own Ashland. 

I have nothing to do, and can foresee no engagement that 
will prevent my accompanying you, wheresoever you may wish 
to go — even to Cuba. 

My daughter charges me to present her duty and her love to 
you. The ladies send their most alTcctionatc remembrances. 
May I ask you to present my best respects to Mrs. Clay. 

33 



514 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES F. BABCOCK AND OTHERS. 

;hland, December 17, 1844. 
Gentlemen, — I duly received your friendly letter transmitting 
the proceedings of a public meeting held in the city of New 
Haven, in respect to the late Presidential election. The patriotic 
spirit, manifest in the whole of them, is worthy of Connecticut, 
worthy of its renowned seat of learning, and worthy of the Whig 
cause. For the sentiments of attachment, confidence and friend- 
ship toward myself, which they exhibit, and which you so kind- 
ly reiterate in your letter, I offer the warm acknowledgments of 
a grateful heart. My obligations to Connecticut and my friendly 
intercourse with many of her emment sons, during a long period 
of time, will be faithfully remembered while I continue to live. 
I share with you, gentlemen, in regrets on account of the un- 
expected issue of the recent election. My own personal concern 
in it is entitled to very little consideration, although I affect no 
indifference in that respect. The great importance of the event 
arises out of the respective principles in contest between the two 
parties, the consequences to which it may lead and the alleged 
means by which it was brought about, of which, however, I do 
not allow myself particularly to speak. 

The policy of the country in regard to the protection of Ameri- 
can industry; a few months ago, seemed to be rapidly acquiring 
a permanent and fixed character. The Southern and South- 
western portions of the Union had been reproached at the North 
for want of sufficient interest and sympathy in its welfare. Yield- 
ing to the joint influence of their own reflections and experience, 
the Slave States were fast subscribing to the justice and v 
diency of a Tariff for revenue, with discriminations for protec- 
tion. At such an auspicious moment, instead of cordially meet- 
ing the Slave States and placing the principle of protection upon 
impregnable and desirable ground, a sufficient number of the free 
States, to be decisive of the contest, abandoned what was be- 
lieved to be their own cherished policy and have aided, if not 
in its total subversion, in exposing it to imminent hazard and un- 
certainty. Discouragement has taken the place of confidence in 
the business of the country, enterprise is checked, and no one 
knows to what employment he can now safely duvet his exer- 
tions. Instead of a constantly augmenting home market, we 
are in danger of experiencing its decline at a time when the 



OF HENBT CLAY. 515 

foreign market Is absolutely glutted with American productions] 
cotton especially, which is now selling at a lower price than was 
ev r befi re known. It is probably d< lined to fall still lower. 

The final and not distant, icsult will be -Sally if large im- 

portations shall be stimulated by low dutie . a drain of the specie 
o[ the country, with all its train of terrible consequences, on 
which I have neither inclination nor time to dwell. 

If the cause of the Whigs had triumphed, the distribution of 
the proceeds of the sales of the public lands would have been 
secured, and that great national inheritance would have been 
preserved for the benefit of the present and future generations. 
I shall be most agreeably disappointed if it be not wasted in a 
few years by graduation and other projects of alienation, leav 
no traces of permanent benefit behind. 

I could not touch upon other great measures of public policy, 
which it was the purpose of the Whigs to endeavor to establish, 
without giving to this letter an unsuitable length. They may 
be briefly stated to have aimed at the purity of the Government, 
the greater prosperity of the people, and additional security to 
their liberties and to the Union, and. with all, the preservation 
of the peace, the honor and the good faith of the nation. The 
Whigs were most anxious to avoid a foreign war, for the sake of 
accpiiring a foreign territory, which, under the circumstances of 
the acquisition, could not fail to produce domestic discord, and 
expose the character of the country, in the eyes of an impartial 
world, to severe animadversions. 

But our opponents have prevailed in the late contest, and the 
Whigs arc, for the present, denied the satisfaction of carrying out 
their measures of national policy. Believing that they arc in- 
dispensable to the welfare of the country, I am unwilling to 
relinquish the fond hope that they may be finally established, 
whether I live to witness that event or not. In the mean time, 
those to whose hands the administration of public affairs is con- 
fided ought to have a fair trial. Let us ever indulge an anxious 
desire that the evils we have apprehended may not be realized, 
that the peace of our country may be undisturbed, its honor re- 
main unsullied, and its prosperity continue unimpeded. 

To guard, however, against adverse results, the resolution of 
the Whigs of the city of New Haven steadfastly to adhere to the 
Whig cause and principles, is wise and patriotic. 

I should be most happy to visit once more New England, and 



516 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

especially New Haven, which has done me so much honor by 
giving me, at the late election, the largest majority ever given 
by that city in a contested election. I shall embrace, with great 
pleasure, any opportunity, should any ever offer, to accept your 
obliging invitation. 

I tender to you, gentlemen, my cordial thanks for your friendly 
wishes and kind regards for me and mine, and I hope that one 
and all of you may long live in health, happiness, and prosperity. 



BENJAMIN J. LEEDOM TO MR. CLAY. 

Xew Yore, December 20, 1844. 
Esteemed Friend, — Although a member of a peaceable So- 
ciety, who do not profess to take much interest in the political 
contests of the day, yet as a man endowed with the common 
feelings of humanity, and a strong desire for the promotion of 
the best interests of my fellow-man, do I mourn over the dark 
cloud which has overshadowed the political horizon of our be- 
loved country ; the prostration of those high and glorious princi- 
ples, of which thou hast so long been the great and unwearied 
champion — that prostration brought about by fraud and calumny, 
is our country's loss, for I am fully aware that had the victory 
been ours, it could not have added one leaf to the wreath which 
encircles thy brow, 

" For thou art freedom's new, and fame's ; 
One of the few, the immortal names 
That are not born to die." 

It is for my country that I mourn, that in thy retirement, one 
of the strongest advocates for those high and glorious principles 
is removed, and I had fondly hoped that, like Cincinnatus, thou 
too, wouldst have left the scenes of domestic life, and once 
more have been heard in our legislative halls. The feeling may 
be a selfish one in me, for well I know that it is unreasonable to 
wish to draw thee from thy peaceful abode, into the turbid 
waters of public life again, after so many years of laborious 
toil. 

Happy is he who carries with him into retirement the prayers 
of the patriotic and intelligent of his country — these thou hast. 

My venerated grandsire left the peaceful society of which I 



OP HENRY CLAY. 517 

am a member, to stand by the Father of his country, in the 
dark hour which tried the souls of me a. The same feelings, 
and the same love of country which nerved him to the contest 
in '7G, prompted his descendant in Ml to deposit his vote for 
Henry Clay. That vote shall be handed down as an heirloom 
to my children ; although defeated, yet that name will be the 
point around which freemen shall rally, until victory crowns our 
efforts. 

With a sincere prayer that thy days may be long in the land, 
and that peace and happiness may be thine, I remain, etc. 



ADAM BEATTY TO MR. CLAY. 

Puospect ITill, December 24, 1844. 

My dear Sir, — The result of the late Presidential election has 
produced on my mind the deepest regret and the most profound 
sorrow. You may well imagine that your failure of success has 
had no small share in exciting these emotions. But it is the 
deep wound inflicted on the honor and best interests of the coun- 
try, by which I have been most sorely afflicted. Your failure 
has relieved you from a heavy responsibility, and, I doubt not, in 
your retirement at Ashland, you will enjoy more real satisfaction 
than all the honors of the Presidential office could afford. It 
will be the means of carrying down to posterity your name with 
greater luster than if you had been elected to the Presidency, 
and I humbly hope that in the wise dispensation of Providence 
your defeat may redound to your temporal and eternal good. 

But oh ! what a wound has been inflicted upon the honor and 
interests of our country,? The election has been carried in fa- 
vor of Mr. Polk, by the most shameful and abominable frauds 
practiced to an extent which, to every reflecting mind, must 
create the most awful apprehensions as to the future destinies of 
our free institutions, and the perpetuity of the Union. 

But this is not all. The foulest and most unprincipled means 
have been resorted to, and with great success, to excite the bitter 
hatred of our recently naturalized citizens, Roman Catholics ami 
Abolitionists, against Whig princi] Les, by the grossest and foi 
misrepresentations, thus setting in hostile array against th 
conservative principles of the Whig party an embitter* d faction, 
whose want of intelligence has been played upon to excite to the 



518 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE , 

highest degree the ungovernable passions of a considerable por- 
tion of our population. 

Reflection upon these circumstances has brought strongly to 
my mind the remark of an eminent modern historian, " That the 
great body of mankind are incapable of judging correctly on 
public affairs." "That the opinion of most men on the great 
questions which divide society, rest on prejudices, personal ani- 
mosities, and private interests." He consoles his readers by the 
reflection that " truth is in the end triumphant, but it becomes 
predominant only upon the decay of interests, the experience of 
suffering, or the extinction of passions." 

I greatly fear our country is destined to go through this ordeal, 
great suffering she will have to endure, but I pray God that truth 
may in the end prevail, and that our Republican institutions may 
yet be saved. 

I have scarcely been able to summon resolution enough to say 
a word to any of my friends, in relation to the arduous contest 
through which the country lias recently passed, but I have 
thought a word of consolation, if I were able to afford it, due to 
our long standing friendship. It affords me some satisfaction at 
least, under the adverse state of things which exists, to assure 
you of my abiding and cordial esteem and friendship. Permit 
me to add a request that you will present my kindest regards to 
Mrs. Clay. 



E. PETTIGREU TO MR. CLAY. 

Magnolia, Tyrrell County, North Carolina, 
January 1, 1815. 

My dear Sir, — The storm is over, and we the people of the 
United States are shipwrecked, aud 1 fear too much damaged 
ever to be repaired. 

The. result of the Presidential election was to me perfectly 
astounding, yet for weeks before it, I began to fear, as it is nat- 
ural for me to look on the dark side o{ every subject, and I men- 
tioned confidentially to some of my friends that I had apprehen- 
sions; consequently endeavored to prepare my mind for the evil 
day ; that day which in my opinion j;> the beginning of the end 
of the peace, pr< S] ty, and happiness of this rising country, '^ 
it did not begin iu the year 1829, with the reign of Hickory 
the First. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 519 

My dear sir, on you rested my only hope, to stay the down- 
ward tendency of this Government, and at tiie Court House of 
my county, in a few remarks I made to the- people on the day 
of election, I entreated them to do their utmost, to slay that de- 
cline, lor four years, and it might he that affairs would be put in 
such a train, that misrule would not get the ascendency in four 
years more, and though I felt every thing for the generations to. 
come, yet I wished of all things to be gathered to my fathers 
before war, pestilence, and famine should overwhelm the land. 
We did well in the county in which I live, and I feel proud to 
know that the State of North Carolina is numbered among the 
Law and Order party, though differing with so many of its neigh- 
boring States. 

The malcontents of these United States have given the great- 
est blow to elective Government that ever was given. It has 
shown to the best friends of republican Governments that dem- 
agogues, who without principle and without honesty, to answer 
party and selfish purposes will rake the pit for voters, as in this 
case, and thereby drive from office those who could save the 
country and put in their stead a third-rate man. Yea, a no-rate 
man. Such men from want of capacity to manage the affairs 
of Government must submit to the dictation of artful, design- 
ing, dishonest, and irresponsible men, and every department of 
the Government must necessarily run into anarchy and con- 
fusion. 

But on this subject I need say no more. It is ail plain to you, 
and my remarks are only to show how much I deplore the fail- 
ure of our forefathers, the patriots of the Revolution. But one 
word on the subject of naturalization. My opinion has been for 
forty years that there should be no citizens of the United States 
except those born within its limits. Let every foreigner be sat- 
isfied to enjoy all the other privileges that the State in which 
they chose to live thought proper to grant. Had that been the 
we should not now be like men in a thunder squall wait 
ing with trembling anxiety for the next clap. 

• dear : ; ■. I must say that I feel very much for your dis 
pointment in bet: , evented, by corruption, after more than 
forty years of devotion to your c< '. from doing to it 

the greatest service that could fall to the lot of any man. We 
all need deplore the circumstance as a national calamity; but 
from you, there is removed a great weight of responsibility, and 



520 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

you now rest under a perfect knowledge that you retire into 
private life with the highest honors that can fall to any man 
now living, the confidence, esteem, and love of hundreds of 
thousands of those of your fellow-citizens who know you best. 

N. B. I omitted to mention, that in 1829, I was unreserved in 
, saying that I gave this United States Government thirty years 
to continue ; which has been my unwavering opinion and dec- 
laration up to this time, and I fear my time will be found too 
long, and I further fear that God has given us up as unworthy 
of his care and protection, and to a hard heart and reprobate 
mind, at all events politically. 



JOHN QTJINCY ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Washington, January 4, 1845. 

Dear Sir, — Commodore Jesse D. Elliot has committed to my 
charge to be transmitted to you a bronze medal which he has 
caused to be struck in honor of Mr. J. Fenimore Cooper, as a 
tribute of gratitude for Mr. Co'oper's defense and vindication of 
the Commodore's character with reference to certain charges 
which have been brought before the Republic against him. 
Commodore Elliot proposes to distribute a limited number of 
these medals to certain distinguished persons and to some of his 
personal friends, and then to have the die broken. I take pleas- 
ure in executing his commission, by forwarding herewith the 
medal to you. 

I have yet to acknowledge the receipt of a very kind and 
friendly letter from you, written shortly before the unexpected 
and inauspicious issue of the recent Presidential election. It 
has been on many accounts painful to me ; but on none more 
or so much as on the dark shade which it has cast upon our 
prospects of futurity. I had hoped that under your guidance 
the country would have recovered from the downward tendency 
into which it has been sinking. But the glaring frauds by 
which the election was consummated afford a sad presentiment 
of what must be expected hereafter. 

We must hope that a merciful Providence will yet preside 
over the destinies of our country, and avert the calamities with 
which she is threatened. 



y 



OF HENRY CLAY. 521 

That your personal comforts may be multiplied in proportion 
to the weight of cares which a different issue would have 
brought upon you is the fervent wish of, dear sir, your friend 
and faithful servant. 



* MR. CLAY TO JOHN CARR. 

Ashland, January 11, 1845. 

Dear Sir, — I received your friendly letter, and thank you for 
the kind feelings toward me which it expresses. Your sugges- 
tion that I would prepare a journal of my public life, embracing 
a narrative of all the slanders which have been so profusely pro- 
pagated against me, is received in the same friendly spirit in which 
it was made. As to the calumnies circulated against me, many 
of them, I dare say, never reached me, and I wish to forget them 
and their vile authors as soon as I can. I hope God will forgive 
them. I do not desire to soil myself by any contact with them. 
The best demonstration of their falsehood is the testimony in 
my favor, borne by my neighbors, and by the people of Ken- 
tucky, uniformly, during a period of upward of forty years. 

Wishing you health, happiness, and prosperity, I am, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Asiiland, February 3, 1845. 

My dear Sir, — I am sorry that after having remained in Lex- 
ington, I hope agreeably, for two months, you should be about 
to leave us in not as good health as you have enjoyed during 
your sojourn. 

With respect to the composition of the work which you have 
so much at heart, and which brought you to this city, I think 
now, as I stated to you at first, that every thing depends upon 
the execution, that most important word in language. You have 
shown me most, if not all you have written, and, as I formed the 
subject of it, perhaps I am not a competent, as I certainly am not 
an impartial, judge. But, unless I am already biased, I do think 
that, so far, you have made good progress, and may ask leave to 
sit again. What you have written may require an attentive re- 
visal, and some new arrangement of its parts, before it is finally 



522 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

sent to the press, that bourne from which a traveler does not al- 
ways safely return. 

I need not say that by far the most important, the historical, 
part of your work remains to be entered upon. I hope you will 
get successfully through it, to accomplish which, I hardly need 
say, will require great patience, much research and study, and a 
large measure of candor and impartiality. 

I can not part from you without the expression of fervent 
wishes for your success and fame, and for your health and pros- 
perity. 



B. JOHNSON BARBOUR TO MR. CLAY. 

Barbouesvtlle, February, 16 1845. 

My dear Sir, — Tt has long been my wish to address you a 
letter, but I have been deterred until now by the fear that you 
were already too much wearied by an extensive correspondence. 
Nor had I the heart to dwell upon the subject which lay upper- 
most in my thoughts. I could not sit down calmly to speak of 
an event trifling to yourself, but portentous to the nation. 

Permit me, Mr. Clay, to say that my affection for you, based 
upon a love of all that is bright and noble in human nature, is 
not the growth of a day. I claim the privilege of speaking as 
an original Whig, as one baptized in the faith at the fountain, as 
one who was taught to love the Whig cause when he knew no 
better, and who never knows nothing better than to love it. My 
love for its great representative was coeval. In my earliest youth 
I was taught by him who was your constant friend to honor the 
pure statesman and patriot pursued by calumny, but still laboring 
with undiminished ardor for an ungrateful country. I felt then 
that, when the vile passions and prejudices of the day had passed 
away, you would have your merited reward from an approv- 
ing posterity ; that your memory would be cherished when the 
demagogues who traduced you were 

"Forgotten as fools, or remembered as worse;" 

that you would be hailed as the wondrous architect that had 
strengthened and adorned the noble edifice whose foundation was 
won by the valor of Washington, and whose corner-stone was 
laid by the wisdom of Madison. 



> OF HENRY CLAY. 523 

A brighter day seemed at length to have dawned upon the Re- 
public. The nation seemed at length to have awakened to its 
true interests, and in the Presidential contest of 1844 I fondly 
looked forward to the confusion of your enemies, your complete 
justification, and the firm re-establishment of our great conserva- 
tive cause. In this we have been sadly mistaken. Double-deal- 
ing, defamation and slanders are still omnipotent. A motley 
party, without principle or principles, with fraud for the means 
and the election of a demagogue for the end, have triumphed. 
Domestic corruption and foreign putrescence coalesced to over- 
whelm the virtue and honesty of the country. Plaquemine and 
Tammany have stifled the voice of the American people, and the 
late contest has only established the melancholy facts that frauds 
upon the ballot box have perfect impunity, that mediocrity is 
merit, and that every excess may be committed in the name of a 
spurious Democracy. 

This is a mournful spectacle for the patriot, and it is perhaps 
better for your fame that you were not called upon to wage an 
ineffectual and unavailing contest with the corruption which per- 
vades every part of the body politic. But little pleasure could 
be felt by the President of a nation where Dorr found mourners, 
disunion advocates ; where a Inst of territory overrides every 
principle of law, all fear of consequence, and all sense of justice ; 
where rebellion puts the power of a State at defiance, and re- 
pudiation grows, prospers, and exults. Such are the terrible 
symptoms by which we are surrounded, telling of the decay of 
virtue and honor, the only safeguard of a Republic. 

These are sad and gloomy thoughts, you will say, for one so 
young. God grant I may be mistaken, that better things may 
be in store for us, that the time may return when patriotism will 
be no crime, nor long service a subject of reproach. 

As an humble memher of the Whig party I shall never cease 
to lift my voice against the foes of my country, that I may have 
something at least of that proud consolation which is yours, the 
consciousness that every nerve was strained and nothing left un- 
done to avert the final catastrophe. 

My mother desires to be most kindly remembered to yourself 
and Mrs. Clay. 



524 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Ashlaxd, March 5, 1845. 

Mr dear Sir, — I received your favors from Washington and 
from Philadelphia, the latter making inquiries concerning my 
paternal ancestors. I am sorry that I am unable to communicate 
to you any minute information about them. All that I know, 
in the general, is that they came from England to the colony of 
Virginia, some time after its establishment, and settled, I believe, 
on the south side of James River. The descendants of the 
original stock are very numerous, and much dispersed, many of 
them residing in Virginia and Kentucky. A branch, or branches 
of the family remained in England, and among their descend- 
ants was Mr. J. Clay, recently quite a distinguished member of 
the British House of Commons. 

My maternal ancestors also came from England, and settled 
in Hanover county, Virginia, about the beginning of the last 
century. George Hudson, my maternal grandfather, died about 
the year 1770, in that county. 

This is about as much as I can inform you in regard to my 
ancestors, and from this statement, you will, I hope, be able to 
incorporate all that is material in your narrative. 

My family is well, and unite with me in assurances of our 
warm regard. 

NOTE WITHOUT DATE. 

I received to-day your favor from Philadelphia. I am sorry 
that you should have any trouble about my English namesakes. 
I am not sine that two of them have been members of the 
House of Commons. One, I know, has been, because I have 
read a speech of his, and have corresponded with him, although 
I can not now lay my hands upon any letter of his. He distin- 
guished himself some years ago, on the Bank question. Most 
probably it was William. When I wrote you last, I thought his 
name was J. Clay, being uncertain whether it was John or Jo- 
seph. It was probably William. 

It is not a matter of much consequence, and perhaps you had 
better confine what you say to the one of whom you know- 
something. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 525 



MR. CLAY TO DR. W. A. BOOTH. 

Ashland, April 7 1815. 

Dear Sir, — Oar mutual friend, Mr. Mitchell, of Frankfort, 
delivered to me the day before yesterday your letter, with sev- 
eral publications under your name, in respect to the unfortunate 
controversy which has arisen in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
of the United States, all of which I have attentively perused. 
You desire an expression of my opinion on certain inquiries 
communicated in your letter. 

I have long entertained for that Church sentiments of profound 
esteem and regard, and I have the happiness of numbering 
among its members some of the best friends I have in the world. 
I will add, with great truth, that I have witnessed, with much 
satisfaction, the flourishing condition of the Church, and the 
good sense and wisdom which have generally characterized the 
administration of its affairs, as far as I have observed it. 

It was, therefore, with the deepest regret that I heard, in the 
course of the past year, of the danger of a division of the 
Church, in consequence of a difference of opinion existing on 
the delicate and unhappy subject of slavery. A division, for 
such a cause, would be an event greatly to be deplored, both on 
account of the Church itself and its political tendency. Indeed 
scarcely any public occurrence has happened for a long time that 
gave me so much real concern and pain as the menaced sepa- 
ration of the Church, by a line throwing all the Free States on 
one side, and all the Slave States on the other. 

I will not say that such a separation would necessarily produce 
a dissolution of the political union of these States ; but the ex- 
ample would be fraught with imminent danger, and, in co-opera- 
tion with other causes unfortunately existing, its tendency on 
the stability of the Confederacy would be perilous and alarm- 
ing. 

Entertaining these views, it would afford me the highest sat- 
isfaction to hear of an adjustment of the controversy, a recon- 
ciliation between the opposing parties in the Church, and the 
preservation of its unity. 

I limit myself to the political aspect of the subject, without 
expressing any opinion on either of the plans of compromise 
and settlement which have been published, which I could not 
do without exposiug myself to improper imputations. 



526 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

With fervent hopes and wishes that some arrangement of the 
difficulty may be devised and agreed upon, which shall preserve 
the Church in union and harmony, I am respectfully your obe- 
dient servant. 



JOHN R. THOMPSON" TO MR. CLAY. 

Ukiteksitt of Virginia, April 8, 1S45. 

My dear Sir, — Allow me to say that in venturing to offer 
the expression of my condolence, where condolence is doubtless 
inapposite, as the result of the late Presidential election, I do so 
as an original Whig, as a native of that " Gibraltar of Whig prin- 
ciples," the city of Richmond, which has always stood up nobly 
for you through good and evil report, and where, forty-five years 
ago, in the office of Chancellor Wythe, you laid the imperishable 
foundations of that greatness, which has since overshadowed the 
world. Your own generous Kentucky has not been more faith- 
ful to your fortunes. I trust, therefore, that you will recognize 
my right, as a citizen of Richmond, and as one who gave with 
honest pride his first vote for you, to lament the disaster that has 
befallen us. 

I had fondly looked forward to November, 1S44, as the day 
when the people of our beloved country would assert their long- 
violated rights, when the malevolence of a vile herd of defam- 
atory enemies would be silenced forever, when a Republic, ceas- 
ing to be ungrateful, would reward, with the highest office in 
its gift, the man who of all others had deserved it. I can not 
tell you, sir, the sense of desolation and crushed hopes with 
which the painful intelligence of your defeat was received. 
Frauds, the most infamous in the annals of the elective franchise, 
stifled the voice of tin > people, and national disgrace was effected 
by a motley party of Dorrites and Agrarians. Mormons and Re- 
pudiators, the voters of Plaquemine and the outlaws of the Em- 
pire Club. Since their ill-omened success, this party have already 
commenced the work of destruction, and we have, but a few 
weeks since, seen the plainest provisions of our blessed Con- 
stitution set at naught, in the passage of the Texas bill. There 
is, indeed, a dark pall over the prospect before us when that 
sacred instrument can be trampled upon by peculation and 
cupidity. 

For yourself, personally, the present age may not accord you 



OF HENBT CLAY. 527 

justice. But I feel assured that a time will come, and I trust 
in God I may live to see it, when the passions and prejudices 
of the present state have passed away, and your stainless and 
iidid name will be revei d ' an admiring posterity. 

The patriotic exertions of the women of Virginia to erect a 
statue in commemoration of your virtues, can not have escaped 

ir attention. I take pleasure in stating to you that I v 
terday informed by Mrs. Lucy Barbour, the venerable and dis- 
tinguished lady, who gave to the work its first impulse, that 
success is certain, and that next summer the corner-stone will lie 
laid. We will erect it upon our Capitol Square, in Richmond, 
and it shall hear some such inscription as was once applied to 
Clinics James Fox, a character, in many respects, kindred with 
your own : 

" A patriot's even course he steered, 

'Mid faction's wildest storms unmoved, 
By all who marked his course, revered, 
By all who knew his heart, beloved." 

Inclosed you will find a copy of some poor verses that I wrote 
for Mr. Pleasants on the occasion of Christmas, in which is at- 
att -miited a satire on the follies of the age. I hope you will not 
deem it impertinent if I ask that you will do me the honor to 
read them. 



DOCTOR MERCER TO MR. CLAY. 

Xew.Orle.vns, April 22, 1845. 

My very dear Friend, — I have received here your kind letter 
from Natchez, whence it was forwarded. We have hcen de- 
tained by Miss Young's indisposition, now of several months du- 
ration, and by her desire to enjoy the henefit of Lugcnburg's 
advice. But as she is now much relieved, I indulge the hope of 
returning home next week. 

In regard to your affairs, or rather to a late movement on the 
part of your friends, however reluctant I might he on ordinary 
occasions to hazard one. conscious of its little authority, yet I 
have not the slighest hesitation to express my opinion as the case 
appears a very plain one. 

I learn from your letter that certain of your debts have been 
cancelled at Lexington by some unknown and inscrutable agency, 
that you suspect the interposition of your friends, and that you 



528 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

are somewhat doubtful whether it would not be more consistent 
with the independence of your previous life that you should re- 
ject the kindly office thus proffered. 

Now in all ages signal public services have been rewarded by 
national benefactions. In our own day, Sieyes and Welling- 
ton have had grants of domains, the debts of Pitt have been 
paid by Parliament, Fox did not disdain the assistance of his 
friends. Your memory will furnish innumerable other instances. 
If Republics are ungrateful it is the more necessary that private 
individuals should perform the duty neglected by the public au- 
thorities. 

You have devoted more than forty years of your life to public 
affairs, and have rendered the most important public services. If, 
in this distinguished career, you have acquired fame surpassing 
that of your cotemporaries, it is equally true, that the same ca- 
pacity, industry and zeal, would have insured to you the most 
ample fortune. This, it strikes me, is the true view of the case, 
and is conclusive beyond question, as you would also think if you 
were not interested. 

But there is another aspect. Would it not be ungracious to 
repel the friendly hand that is tendered, to mortify those who are 
warmly attached to you, and to consult — shall I venture on the 
WO rd ? — your pride, at the expense of their feelings ? 

My dear friend, you must submit, there is no remedy ; for, if 
your suspicions are correct, you can not overcome the precautions 
which may have been adopted to guard against this very con- 
tingency. 

I venture to use the language which is dictated alike by my 
grateful sense of your sentiments toward me, as by my high re- 
spect and warm attachment for you. Most surely it is the duty 
of a friend to speak plainly, without, however, disregarding the 
delicacy aud courtesy which are equally necessary. 

I hope Mrs. Clay has not forgotten me, and that she will ac- 
cept my respects. 



MB. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Ashland, April 28, 1845. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your letter of the 17th in- 
stant. Compression is your forte in composition ; but is there 



OF HENRY CLAY. H29 

not danger of your el ting loo much the old calumny of 

bargain, etc. ? The division you propose of the subject appears 
to me to be natural and suitable 

\\ h in T meet Governor Letcher I will endeavor to prevail on 
him to give the certificate you desire. He may perl ci sent 
to fn h il to be used only in the contingency of his death. If 
living, and the statement of ' Mr: B.'s agency Id lie denied, 

! to as he is as a witness, I am sure he would be willing 
to testify. You will find Mr. Buchanan's speech, what you want, 
in Gales and Seaton's Congressional Debates, although I can not 
refer you to the page. Governor Letcher could refer to it. 

It would be well not to publish Colonel Sloan's statement un- 
til I hear from Mr. Reilly, the Texan Charge des Affaires. I en- 
dcavore'd, through him, to procure from General Houston a con- 
firmation of Colonel Sloan's testimony, and have not yet learned 
what success attended the effort. 

Mr. Adams' appeal to heaven was at Maysville, I think in 
N( vemb r 1843, on the occasion of his visit to Cincinnati. He 
made a very strong defense of me in 1829 in answer to some 
address from New Jersey, which you will no doubt be able to 
find in Niles' Register. 



A GOLD PEN TO MR. CLAY. 

Krw York, 8 Washington Squar ■. July 12, 1815. 

Honored and honorable Sir, — Designed by my maker for 
actual service, and ambitious to hold a situation where I can gain 
the highest honor, and confer the greatest benefit on mankind, I 
am emboldened, at the suggestion of a friend, to present myself 
before you, to solicit your patronage and favor. 

Truth compels mc to admit that I have but little to recommend 
me to your notice. Although I derive my origin from a rich and 
powerful family, to whom even princes pay court, and whose in- 
fluence is felt throughout the world, I am myself without in- 
fluence, without the attraction of peculiar beauty, am worth but 
little money, and wholly destitute of intellectual end* wments. 
Yet, kind sir, if you will take me by the hand and admit me to 
your intimate companionship, to your treasury of thoughts, I 
shall soon become familiar wit'.i all that is noble in sentiment, 
lofty in conception, wise in judgment, beautiful in imagery,, 
honest in purpose, and truthful in expression. 

34 



530 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Thus guided I can not fail to impart pleasure and instruction 
to the world : and to gain in return, the world's admiration and 
applause. 

Insignificant as I may appear in comparison with such of my 
elegant relations as have lately been presented to you, I yet hope 
you will deign to listen to my application, will give me a place 
near your person, and allow me to remain, honored sir, ever 
yours to command. 



MR. CLAY TO J. MUIR. 

Ashland, August 1, 1 8-io. 

Dear Sir, — I received your kind letter and thank you for the 
friendly sentiments which it conveys. I have ceased to have 
any, I never had many, personal regrets on account of the issue 
of the Presidential election. Those which I most felt were ex- 
cited for my country and for my friends. They remain undi- 
minished. And for no portion of them were my sympathies 
more strongly awakened than for our countrywomen. Their 
hearts, every where, assured them of the deep and durable in- 
terests involved in the contest, and intuitively prompted them to 
avert all calamity from our land, if they could. Mine gratefully 
owns the kind partiality which they manifested toward me. The 
ladies of Alexandria are entitled to a large share of the great ob- 
ligation which I owe to their whole sex. 

I return the blank notes which you transmitted, with my name 
affixed to each as you desired. I add a similar one for Mrs. MandelL 

I will thank you to make my respects and my acknowledg- 
ments to the poet mechanic, of whose versification you have 
sent a specimen so creditable to his talent. 



MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Blue Sulphur, Virginia, September 5, 1845. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor, proposing to send the 
proofs to me of your first volume. I am now era route to Ash- 
land, where I shall be glad to receive them, hoping to find in 
the introduction, as intimated in your previous letter, an exoner- 
ation of me from any responsibility for the composition of the 
work. It is the best if not only mode of correcting the error 
committed in the prospectus. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 531 

I saw Judge Brooke at the While Sulphur Springs. He tells 
me that he has packed up ;i large bundle of my letters, and placed 
them in the care of a friend, to be delivered to you. He thinks 
thai yon may derive useful matter from them. Tie has returned 
to St. Julien, his residence near Fredericksburg. 

I have also received a package of some forty of my letters, 
addressed to the late J. S. Johnston, Senator from Louisiana, sent 
me by the widow of his only son. [ will try to find some per- 
son to forward them by to you from Lexington. 

I have not yet heard from General Houston ; but Mr. Rciley, 
the husband of my wife's niece, still believes I shall receive a 
communication from him. 



MR. CLAY TO DR. W. A. BOOTH. 

Ashland, September 15, 1845. 

Dear Sir. — A temporary absence from home has delayed my 
acknowledgment of the receipt of your favor of the 7th ultimo. 
I have not received the pamphlet to which it refers. But any 
expression of my opinion, as to your plan of compromise be- 
tween the two divisions of the Methodist Church, would be now 
wholly unimportant, if at any time it would have been worth 
any thing, since a separation seems to be inevitable. When 
such is the case, in human affairs, I think the best way is to seek 
to avoid any mischievous consequences. 

I must continue to regret the separation, because I believe it 
to have an evil tendency. Others think differently; and my 
hope is that they may, in the end, prove to be right, and I 



wrong. 



It was not my intention, in my former letter, to impute any 
error to the Southern portion of the Church, on the unhappy sub- 
ject of Slavery, the immediate cause of division. 

My opinion is, that the existence of Slavery, or the fact of 
owning slaves, in States which authorize the institution of Slave- 
ry, does not rightfully fall within the jurisdiction of Ecclesi- 
astical bodies. The law of the land is paramount, and ought 
not to be contravened by any spiritual tribunal. 



532 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MR. CLAY TO CALVIN COLTON. 

Ashland, September 16, 1845. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 2d instant. I 
have really no coat of arms, and if I had, I should doubt the 
propriety of the use of it suggested by you. In lieu of it. would 
it not be better to employ some object drawn from those inter- 
ests which I have sought to promote in the National Councils? 
A loom, shuttle, anvil, plow, or any other article connected 
with manufactures, agriculture, or commerce. I wrote you from 
the Blue Sulphur. Yours respectfully. 



HENRY WHITE AND OTHERS TO MR. CLAY. 

Philadelphia, December 21, 1845. 

Dear Sir, — The undersigned, acting for the Whigs of Phila- 
delphia, have the honor to ask your acceptance of the book 
which accompanies this letter. It contains an expression of 
gratitude from your Whig brethren here, for your eminent ser- 
vices as a statesman, and a testimonial of their regard for you, 
as a citizen and friend. 

The undersigned have the honor to send with the book a cas- 
ket of jewels, manufactured in this city for Mrs. Clay. On be- 
half of the ladies and gentlemen whose names are contained in 
the book, they present them to Mrs. Clay, as a mark of their 
high consideration and respect for the worth and virtues of the 
lady of one to whom the country owes a debt of gratitude that 
never can be repaid. 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE AND OTHERS. 

Ashland, December 16, 1845. 
Gentlemen, — I received to-day at this place, the letter which 
on the 1st inst., you did me the honor to address to me, from 
the hands of Henry White, Esq., one of the subscribers to it. 
He at the same time delivered to me the book, beautifully printed 
and bound, entitled " A Testimonial of Gratitude and Affection 
to Henry Clay," containing the proceedings of a meeting of my 
friends in the city of Philadelphia, publicly held at the County 
( 'oiirt-housc, on Wednesday evening, December 19, IS 14, in 



OF HENRY CLAY. . f)?,?, 

pursuance of a rail of the National Clay Club, and containing 
also several thousand names of both sexes, young and old, of 
those who have done me the ir r< ■ : 1 1 honor of <•> >i it riTnit in^ a testi- 
monial to my public services, to the principles and measures 
which I have endeavored to establish, and to my exertions in 
the common cause which we have espoused. 

It is utterly impossible, gentlemen, for me to find language of 
sufficient force and strength, to express to you the emotions of 
gratitude and thankfulness excited in my breast by this precious 
and atTccting testimonial. It will be ever warmly cherished by 
me throughout my life, and be preserved and transmitted to my 
descendants, as the most honorable legacy which I could be- 
queath to them. And I request you to say to one and all of the 
contributors, that their respective names are not more indelibly 
recorded in the splendid book which they have sent me, than in 
grateful impressions on my heart. 

I am also charged by Mrs. Clay to present her cordial and 
respectful thanks (to which I beg leave to add my own), to the 
ladies and gentlemen who have had the goodness to send her a 
casket of rich jewels, which Mr. White kindly delivered into 
her own hands, for their highly valuable present. Her grateful 
obligations for it, she enjoins me to say, are not at all diminished 
by the reflection that considerations apart from any merits of her 
own, have prompted the generous offer of it to her acceptance. 

I embrace the occasion to bear my testimony, and to tender 
my thanks to you, gentlemen, the trustees appointed under the 
authority of the public meeting in Philadelphia, before men- 
tioned, for the delicacy, the fidelity, and the honor, with which 
you have executed the trust confided to you. And I have great 
pleasure in expressing my thanks and gratitude to Mr. White, in 
particular, for the great trouble and inconvenience which he has 
encountered, by performing a long journey, at a most inclement 
season, to fulfill the commission intrusted to him. 

I am, gentlemen, with sentiments of the highest respect and 
regard, your grateful and faithful friend, and obedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO W. L. WOODWARD. 

Ashland, January ", 18 : 
Dear Sir, — I duly rec< iv I ; nr favor, and take pleasure in 

answering it. The desire to trace out your ancestry is very 



534 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

natural. I have often felt it in respect to mine, but I have no 
written, and very imperfect traditional accounts of them. I am 
apprehensive, however, that my parental stock is different from 
the family of Clays described by you, as having been established 
in Middletown, Connecticut. My ancestors emigrated from 
England, and settled in the colony of Virginia, early, I believe, 
in the 17th century. My father was born there, not far from 
Richmond, on the south side of James River. He removed to 
Hanover county, shortly before my birth in that county. His 
name was John, and he was sometimes called Sir John Clay (as 
I have seen in the record of judicial proceedings), but he had 
no legitimate right to that title. It was a soubriquet which he 
somehow acquired. He had but one brother, Edward Clay, 
who removed at an early period into North Carolina, where he 
lived and died, leaving a large family. 

I never knew my father, who died in my infancy, nor my 
grandfather. Left an orphan, struggling for subsistence and edu- 
cation, and removing, before I reached my majority, to this State, 
where I plunged first into an active professional business, and 
then into political affairs, I have had but little leisure to prose- 
cute inquiries concerning my ancestors. And now, I shall so 
soon meet them in another, and I hope a better state, that I have 
thought it hardly necessary to institute any. I think it is quite 
probable that the Clays, from whom we both descended, were 
originally of the same family, although it may not be practicable 
now to trace the exact degree of connection. When I was in 
England, I met with some persons bearing the name of Clay, 
and from conversation with them, I had reason to suppose that 
we all sprung from the same stock. 

I am very thankful for the assurance contained in your letter, 
that your family have all done me the honor to entertain confi- 
dence in me, and that those of them who are entitled to the ex- 
ercise of the elective franchise, have voted with the Whigs. 1 
shall be most happy, if. during the remnant of my life, I shall 
continue to merit their good opinion. 

I pray you to communicate my respectful regards to your ven- 
erable grandfather, and accept for yourself assurances of the 
respect and este< m. and the wishes for your welfare and happi- 
ness of your friend and obedient servant. 

P. S. My father was a Baptist preacher. Mr. Eleazer Clay 



OF HENRY CLAY. 035 

near Richmond, Va., was also a Baptist preacher for more than 
sixty years, and my only surviving full brother is a preacher of 
the same denomination. 



LORD MORPETH TO MR. CLAY. 

Castle Howard, April 17, 1846. 

My dear Mr. Clay, — I should hardly have ventured to put 
the locality of my date into so graphic a form, but I thought 
that if your Yorkshire housekeeper should be still alive, she 
might like to be shown the outside of a Yorkshire house. I 
wish I could show her master the inside. The reason for my 
breaking in at all upon the repose of Ashland (a repose, however, 
against the cause of which I protest in common with the sound 
sense of mankind at large), is to satisfy the request of a friend, 
who begs me to inquire from you whether you happen to know 
any thing of a Mr. William Cavendish, whom he believes to 
have accompanied you upon your return to America in 1815- 
16(?), and if so, what befell him, whether he is still alive, and 
what he is now doing. I sincerely beg pardon for inflicting so 
much old-dated curiosity upon you, and it is only in respect of 
having once discharged the office of your letter-carrier, that I 
can hope to be excused for bothering your post-bag with so un- 
interesting an inquiry. The last mail brings us the account of 
your adding to your estimates, but I hope that the whole mat- 
ters between us wear a more pacific complexion. I must say 
that I think upon our side there would be a sincere aversion to 
any conflict between us. I am afraid I must not bespeak your 
sympathy for our Free-Trade movement. It rather hangs lire 
during its progress through the Legislature, but I am inclined to 
believe that the House of Lords will pass the bill. I hope your 
groves are flourishing round you, and I must particularly inquire 
r your stock of cattle. We are rather proud of our breed in 
this place, and sold two short-horned cows last autumn for 
£300, which in the present times we consider a large price, 
when good breeds are become so much more common. I would 
beg to be kindly remembered to all of your family who are 
good enough to retain any recollection of me. I wonder whether 
your servant Charles is still with you : 



536 PRIVATE C0EEE3P0XDENCE 

Mr. Denisoh, whom you may remember as a traveler in Amer- 
ica some twenty years ago, is now with us here, and begs to be 
recalled to your recollection. 



HENRY CLAY JR. TO HIS BROTHER JAMES. 

Louisville, May 25, 1846. 

Dear James, — Your letter was thankfully received. The 
Governor left here yesterday morning. The night before I 
offered him five companies, and a sixth reported themselves 
through their officers the same night. I could easily raise the 
ten. Indeed I have been much complimented by offers to serve 
with me. When I offered the Governor the companies he told 
me that he would not be bound by their election, after having 
given me reason to believe that he would issue the commissions 
according to their choice. 

At present, having done all that a proper sense of duty re- 
quires; in having offered my services. I have determined to do 
nothing more. The rest remains with his Excellency. 

Tell Henry Erwin if he desires to go out I would advise him 
to be elected, if possible, captain or lieutenant of one of the 
companies. My love to Susan and all our friends. 



MR. CLAY TO JOHN S. LITTELL. 

Ashland, November 17, 1S46. 

My dear Sir, — I received your friendly letter of the 9th in- 
stant, and am greatly obliged by your kind intention to send me 
a copy of < ; Graydon's Memoirs." I should receive it with 
pleasure, and no doubt would peruse it with profit. I saw that 
you were a candidate for Congress on the Native American ticket. 
I did not for a moment suppose that in assuming that position 
you had abandoned any of your long-cherished Whig principles. 

There is much in the principles of the Native American party 
to commend it to deliberate consideration ; but as a separate and 
distinct party, I have not imagined that it could succeed in the 
United States. Its tendency is to distract and divide the Whigs, 
for it is not to be believed that the other party; to any consider- 



OF HENEY CLAY. 537 

able extent, will unite with the Native i\ icrican. The other 

party lias profited too 1; ly by the foreign vote to authorize us 
•t that, as a party, it will give any c< iderabl port 

or countenance to the Native Americans. If any modification 
of the naturalization laws shall ever be effected, it will not he at 
the instance, or by the co-operation, of the Democratic party. 

The political evils which flow from the foreign population are 
confined to localities, and do not pervade the interior of the 
Union. Hence I suppose that the principles of the Native 
American party alone' can never form a basis of a party commen- 
surate with the whole Union. 

I unite with you in congratulations on the recent signal tri- 
umphs of the Whigs. They encourage us to hope for a better 
administration of the general Government. Such a desirable 
result I think inevitable, if the Whigs should he wise, and not 
allow themselves to be intoxicated by their present successes. I 
look on passing scenes with calmness, though not with indiffer- 
ence. I am often addressed to know if I would consent to the 
use of my name again as a candidate for the Presidency. Al- 
though full of gratitude to my friends for their past confidence 
and support, I have deemed it most befitting to remain silent on 
these appeals, answering neither yea nor nay. In my opinion, 
it is too soon now to agitate the cmestion of the next Presidency. 
The public mind, I think, had better bo left to the full, undis- 
turbed, and undivided consideration of the disastrous measures 
of the last session of Congress. It will be time enough hereafter, 
from among the living and the worthy, to select a suitable per- 
son to accomplish the changes so desirable in the general ad- 
ministration. 

For the continuance of your kind and friendly feelings and 
sentiments toward me, I beg you to be assured of the thanks and 
gratitude of your friend and ohedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE. 

■ \m>, November 27, 1S1G. 

My dear Sir, — At the moment of my departure from home, 
which I leave to-morrow for New Orleans, I take great pleasure 
in the acknowledgment of the receipt of your kind favor of the 
21st instant. I wish I could enjoy the satisfaction of your com- 



538 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

pany on the voyage, not, however, with the discomforts which 
we experienced in that terrible old hickory last winter. 

I congratulate you on the marriage of your daughter. Say to 
her that I wish her all possible happiness ; and that, if she does 
not enjoy it, so far as her husband is concerned, I must say ; 
" white man is very uncertain." 

I congratulate you also on public affairs. I think light is once 
more beaming upon us, and light, too, from the Key stone, as 
well as elsewhere. 

Your information and explanations are very friendly and 
satisfactory. 

As to the Tariff of 1846, I think our true policy is to go for 
its repeal, and the restoration of the Tariff of 1842, and nothing 
else than the repeal of the one and the restoration of the other. 

My wife, and all at Ashland, unite in affectionate regards to 
you and all of yours. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

New Orleans, January 17, 184*7. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter of the first instant, and 
was much distressed by the account you gave me of dear little 
Lucy's health. She is one of the few links that bind me to life, 
and I should be quite inconsolable if we were to lose her Tell 
Doctor Dudley that I hope he will exert all his skill to restore 
her. 

Give my love to Susan, and kiss Lucy for me. My health 
has been generally good. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

New Orleans, January 30, 1S47. 

My dear Son, — I received to-day your letter of the 19th, in- 
forming me of your having purchased thirty tons of hemp, stat- 
ing that you may purchase sixty or seventy tons more, and ask- 
ing nic to send an authority to join my name in security for the 
payment of the price. I send the authority inclosed accord- 
ingly. 

I am sorry to hear that poor little Lucy continues unwell. 
Kiss the dear child fur me, and my love to Susan. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 539 

MR. CLAY TO HIS SON •' \MES. 

New ( inLKAHS, February 24, I 
My dear Sun, — I have at last received a letter from Henry, 
but he says nothing in it about his Louisville business. He is 
well, but writes in bad spirits, owing to his having no prospect 
of actual service. 

My love to Susan and dear Lucy. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

New Orleans March 13, 1817. 

My dear Wife, — Inclosed I send two bills (the first number) 
to guard against any accident that may befall me. I wish them 
kept by you until my return. I retain in my possession the 
other two numbers. I have been engaged to argue a case next 
winter in the Supreme Court of the United States. 

I shall leave here on Tuesday next for Natchez, where I shall 
remain a few days ; and I think I shall go up in the Peytona, 
in which case it will be near the last of the month before I get 
home. 

"We are in anxious suspense here about news from the army. 
Taylor has probably had some hard fighting. Rumor says he 
lost two thousand men, and killed four thousand ; but I do not 
believe that there have been- such heavy losses. Henry, I sup- 
pose, was in the fight, as he was with Taylor. If I should get 
any certain intelligence before I leave here I will write you again. 

My love to John and Henry. 



WM. PRESTON AND OTHERS TO MR. CLAY. 

Louisville, April 10, 1847. 

Dear Sir, — The people of Louisville, deeply moved by the 
circumstances attending the brittle of Buena Vista, and wishing 
to manifest their profound esteem for the brave men who fell on 
that memorable day, adopted a scries of resolutions expressive 
of their feelings at the reception of the mournful, yet glorious 
intelligence. A copy of those resolutions have been inclosed to 
you by a committee appointed for that purpose. 

To the undersigned this sad yet grateful duty was allotted of 



540 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

making the requisite arrangements to bring back to this State 
the remains of the brave officers and soldiers from this city, who, 
on that day, died in the service of the nation. 

Among those who perished on that sanguinary battle-field, 
you, sir, sustained the loss of a brave and gallant son — a loss as 
afflicting to his country as to his kindred. To the city of his 
adoption he was endeared in life by many virtues, and the sad 
story of his unyielding valor and chivalric death, will long be re- 
membered and treasured by her sons. We will not venture to 
dwell upon a theme so painful, yet so full of consolation to a 
father's heart ; our duty is simpler. It is for us to bring back 
his last remains from the land of the foeman and stranger, that 
he may peacefully repose in the bosom of his own loved Ken- 
tucky, far indeed from the field of his glory, but amid hearts that 
knew, that loved, that honored him. 

It is to ask your permission to bring back to his native State 
the body of Colonel Clay, to administer the last sacred rites of 
sepulture, and afterward to erect a monument to commemorate 
his virtues and perpetuate his deeds, that we address this note. 

We remain, sir, with the profoundest sympathy for'your afflic- 
tion, and with the highest esteem, your friends and fellow-citizens. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMANN. 

Ashland, May 12, 1S17. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your letter of the 3d instant, 
and thank you for the friendly expression of your regret and 
sympathy, on account of the great and irreparable loss which I 
have sustained, in the death of my beloved son, on the bloody 
field of Buena Vista. It has been one of the most lamentable 
events of my life, which has been full of domestic afflictions. 
Although I feel s,ome consolation in the gallant manner of my 
son's death in the service of his country, and in the general sym- 
pathy which the public has so generously displayed on account 
of it, the deep wound which I have received can only be effect- 
ually healed by Him whose dispensations have produced it. 

I approach, at this time, the other subject of your letter under 
feelings which would not allow me to touch it, but at the in- 
stance of such a long, tried, and faithful friend, as I have ever 
found you to be. 



OF HENRY CLAY. ."II 

And first, as to the movement in Philadelphia to bring out 
General Taylor as the Whig candidate f< i President, which yon 
say is represented to have been made by my advice, and with 
my approbation. So far from that being the fact, it took me 
completely by surprise ; and most certainly I neither did, nor is 
it probable that, at any time, I could advise or approve such a 
movement. Now, it appears to me to be premature, im| ulsive, 
and if generally concurred in by the Whig party, must place it 
in a false and inconsistent position. 

I have thought that any serious movement, earlier than next 
winter or next spring, to designate the Whig candidate, would 
be unwise. By that time we shall have a pretty correct view 
of the whole ground, and of what the Whigs may be able to 
accomplish in 18-18. 

The war with Mexico is yet in progress. We do not certainly 
know how it will terminate, nor how General Taylor himself 
may finally come out of it. In the mean time, it would be very 
embarrassing to him to be a recognized candidate for the Pres- 
idency in opposition to the very party, to the orders of whose 
Administration he is subject. 

Then there is General Scott. Perhaps, while I am now writ- 
ing, he is in possession of the city of Mexico. Will he create no 
competition with General Taylor ? May we not have two Whig 
generals in the field of politics ? And as the other party may 
desire the eclat of military deeds, may they not bring forward 
some third general. 

As to the inconsistency to which I have referred, it seems to 
me that the Whig party has been long and deliberately com- 
mitted against the election of a military officer to the Presidency 
who had never developed any capacity for civil administration. 
The election of General Harrison was no departure from that 
rule ; for he was quite as much distinguished in various walks in 
civil life as he was in his military career. The true principle, I 
think, is this : that great military attainments and triumphs do 
not qualify of themselves nor disqualify for the Presidency. 

If General Taylor, who is absolutely without any experience 
whatever in civil administration, shall be elected, I think we may 
bid adieu to the election ever again of any man to the office of 
Chief Magistrate who is not taken from the army. Both rallies 
will stand committed to the choice of military men. Each in 
future will seek to bring him forward who will be most likely to 



542 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

secure the public suffrage. Military chieftain will succeed mili- 
tary chieftain, until at last one will reach the Presidency who, 
more unscrupulous than his predecessors, will put an end to our 
liberties, and establish a throne of military despotism. 

If it were highly probable or certain that we must take Gen- 
eral Taylor, or submit to the continuance in power of the present 
dominant party, that would present a different state of things. 
The question then would be between the perpetuation and in- 
crease of corruption, leading certainly to the destruction of the 
Government, on the one hand, and the ultimate danger of mili- 
tary despotism, on the other. In such a painful dilemma, it 
might be expedient, as an only resort, to select the General as 
the Whig candidate. But this ought not to be done but upon 
the strongest necessity ; and at this early day no such necessity 
is manifest. On the contrary, there is much reason to hope that 
the Whig party may be able to elect any fair and honorable 
man they may choose to nominate. 

As to myself, after the disastrous termination of the contest 
of 1844, I determined to submit to my fate, and to remain pass- 
ive, and I have accordingly so remained. I have never stated 
to any mortal whether I would consent or not to the use of my 
name again as a candidate. On that question I have formed no 
positive determination, one way or the other. If God were to 
spare my life and my mind should remain in full vigor ; and if 
there were to be such popular demonstrations of a desire to elect 
me as to leave no doubt of the result, I might consent to my 
name being again used. But the latter condition is not likely 
perhaps, to occur, if the former should exist. Up to the battle 
of Bnena Yista, I had reason to believe that there existed a fixed 
determination with the mass of the Whig party, throughout the 
United States, to bring me forward again. I believe that the 
greater portion of that mass still cling to that wish, and that the 
movements we have seen, in behalf of General Taylor, are to a 
considerable extent superficial and limited. Such is the fact in 
this quarter. And even in Philadelphia I have been informed 
that by far the greatest enthusiasm was displayed, at the public 
meeting, when some allusion was made to my name. 

If General Scott is successful to the extent, which we may 
anticipate, in Mexico, most probably a party will spring up to 
bring him forward ; and in the collisions which may arise, it is 



OF HENRY CLAY. 543 

possible that the Whig public may deem it wise and expedient 
finally to put aside both Generals, and select some civilian. 

I am afraid that you will find this long letter a great inflic- 
tion; but you mn^t attribute it to yourself, and to the confi- 
dence and friendship which I entertain for you. 

P. S. I ought to say that I have long and intimately known 
General Taylor ; and that I regard him as an honest straightfor- 
ward man ; but I know nothing of his opinions upon public 
affairs, except by inference from the fact of his preference of 
me to Mr. Polk. 



MR. CLAY TO MISS TOWLER. 

Ashland, June 7, 1847. 
My dear Miss Towler, — I called this morning at Mr. Mc- 
Gowans' in Lexington, to see you, but you had departed for 
Columbia. My object was to present to you in person, what I 
now communicate in writing, my cordial thanks for the beauti- 
ful lines which you cordially addressed to me, on the death of 
my beloved son. They, are highly creditable to your heart and 
to your head. The advice you give to restrain my grief for 
that melancholy event, is very good, and certainly the generous 
expressions of such sympathy as you, my other friends, and the 
public have manifested, are calculated to alleviate our sorrows. 
They place me under great and grateful obligations. But He 
only, my young friend, can effectually heal such wounds as we 
have received, by whose inscrutable dispensations they have 
been permitted to be inflicted. You have felt in early life, 
the bereavement of an excellent father. May your surviving 
parent, and your other relatives, be long spared to you, and may 
you enjoy all other earthly blessings. My warm regards to your 
mother. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLM AXN. 

Virginia, Whits Sulphur Springs, August 4, 1847. 
My dear Sir, — I received your friendly letter prior to my de- 
parture from home ten days ago, and brought it with me to this 



544 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

place. I thank you for the kind tender of your friendly offices, 
of which, if there should be need, I shall avail myself, with the 
fullest confidence in your fidelity to the Whig cause, and in your 
personal regard to me. 

I think it even now very manifest that the Lccofoco party 
docs not intend to make General Taylor its Presidential candi- 
date ; and if it should not, should hut designate some other candi- 
date, the condition of popular unanimity, on which alone he 
states, in one of his late letters, that he will consent to run, will 
not exist. I think it impossible that the General should main- 
tain silence as to his principles. He must make some public 
avowal of them, in other words he must say whether he is 
Whig or Democrat. Such silence could not, I think, be main- 
tained by General Washington, if he were to rise from the dead 
and consented to be again run for the Presidency. General 
Jackson was constrained to proclaim his, although he did not 
afterward conform to them. 

But suppose him to preserve silence, and tho other party to 
designate some other candidate, what then are the Whigs to do ? 
Will they not only forego all their objections to a mere military 
man, as President, but take one haphazard, without knowing 
whether he holds a single principle in common with them ? 

I have thought for some time, and continue to think, that it is 
highly probable that the other party will finally settle down on 
General Scott, and 1 think I have seen some indications of this, 
both in its conduct and in his. 

You ask me what is the best mode of conducting the cam- 
paign in your State. I should think it best to rely upon the old 
issues, with the exception of that of a Bank of the United 
States, which I believe was never pressed in Pennsylvania. 
There is, 1st. The principle of protection, and the fraud prac- 
ticed on Pennsylvania by the Kane letter. In further support 
of this fraud I learned yesterday from the Honorable Reverdy 
Johnson, that, during the canvass of 1S44, when some interrog- 
atories were addressed from your State to Polk, requesting a 
more explicit avowal of his opinion in regard to the Tariff of 
1812, Mr. Buchanan wrote to Tennessee that the Kane letter 
was working well, and begging that those interrogatories might 
not be answered, and Mr. Polk accordingly remained silent. 

Then there is, 2d. The Mexican war, its causes, the manner of 
conducting it, and the great National debt which it fastens on 



OF HENRY CLAY. 545 

the country. 3d. The alarming increase of the vctos and the 
abuses of the Executive power — the improvement of the coun- 
try, etc., etc. These and other topics will readily present them- 
selves, and will be treated by you to the greatest advantage. 

It is true, as you remark, that the famished condition of Eu- 
rope has concealed the effects of the Tariff of IS 10 ; but tl 
will be more and more manifested as bread and other food be- 
come there abundant. Already have the prospects of a good 
crop in Europe led to a decline in the prices of American food. 

I shall remain here until Monday next, when I purpose pass- 
ing through your native State to Cape May, where I desire to 
enjoy a sea-bath, which I never in my life before had an oppor- 
tunity of doing. You must not, however, infer that my health 
is bad. It is on the contrary very good. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Whits Sulphub Spmxgs, August G, 1817. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter of the 2Sth ultimo, with 
its inclosures. 

The latter part of the journey fatigued me very much, but I* 
have now recovered from it. Dr. Mercer and I go to Cape May 
on the 9th instant, he leaving his family here. I shall return by 
this route on my way home. 

My love to all at home, and kisses for Lucy. 

Your letter is the only one I have received from home. Let- 
ters may be addressed to me at Cape May until the 18th instant, 
and afterward to this place. 



NICHOLAS DEAN TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, August 12, 1847. 
My dear Sir, — Three years have elapsed since I last had the 
honor of addressing you ;'not that the abiding feelings of respect 
and admiration with which I regard you have in any degree di- 
minished, but the fervent hopes entertained by me, in common 
with millions of your fellow-citizens, were so unexpectedly and 
fatally crushed by the issue of the last Presidential election, that 
I have never yet been able perfectly to rally from its stunning 

35 



546 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

effects, or to gather confidence enough to force myself upon 
your attention. 

A calamity of a different and infinitely more afflicting char- 
acter lias since fallen upon your family circle, awakening the 
sympathies and calling forth the commisseration of all those who 
have hearts to feel throughout our native country ; — in these, 
my dear sir, I deeply and truly participate, and respectfully 
tender to you, and those dear to you, my heartfelt condolements. 

Among the numerous tributes which the gallantry and noble 
bearing of your lamented son upon the fatal field of Buena 
Vista have called forth, I have met none more touching in its 
inception and character than the one herewith inclosed, the pro- 
duction of Frances Jane Crosby, a resident graduate of the New 
York Institution for the Blind. It was written immediately 
after the announcement of his fall in that fearful conflict. The 
authoress but recently recited it to me, and I hasten to place it 
before you. 

The deep, broad current of universal sorrow has forced the 
barriers that encompass the blind, and awakened sympathies 
even in their stricken state of darkness and solitude. 

I can not add to the tenderness and pathos of such an offering. 
Accept it, I pray you. 

On the death ' nant Colonel He, ' ' \ Jr., who fell at the battle of Buma 

Visi ' . • ■ l'?>, 1817, by Frances Jane Crosby* of the New York In- 

stitute for the Blind. 

Lo! on the gory battlo-field, 

A soldier brave is lying, 
Mild is the luster of his eye, 

Though he, alas! is dying. 

Yet still with feeble hand he grasps 

The sword so faithful ever ; 
Now drops the weapon by his side, 

And to resume it — never. 

Oh ! gallant Clay, though for thy brow 

Its laurels Fame is weaving; 
Vain trophies ! for thy bosom now 

Its last faint : i .1> ie heaving. 

Back, cowards ! would ye deeper mako 

TIic wounds already given ? 
You, from an '• father's heart 

Another tie have riven. 



* Miss Crosby Ik; ; been blind siuee the age cf six weeks. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 547 

Intrepid warrior, thou hast left 

A deathless name behind thee — 
That name unsullied, slill shall shine, 

Though the dark crave 1 1 1 ay Liiul thee. 

Thou, by thy Gener hast fought, 

Yes, Taylor -will deplore thee; 
And many a heart that shared thy love 
Will weep in silenco o'er thee! 



E. C. WINES TO MR. CLAY. 

The Garlands School, near Burlington, 
New Jersey, August 16, 1817. 

Dear Sir, — In the late severe affliction, through which a 
mysterious but doubtless ever-wise and benignant Providence has 
called you to pass, 1 have felt the deepest sympathy with you. 
And if I have not given utterance to these emotions, it was only 
because I feared that my condolence would be rather an intru- 
sion upon your grief than any alleviation of it. Having recently 
seen, however, an account in the public papers of your baptism, 
whereby you have become a member of the visible Church of 
Christ, I can not refrain from conveying to you my cordial con- 
gratulations on the auspicious issue of four sorrowful bereave- 
ment. It was the experience of one of the greatest monarchs 
and statesmen the world ever saw ; it has been the experience 
of thousands in every condition of life since his day ; it has 
now, I trust, become your happy experience also : " It is good 
for me that I have been afflicted." The hand of affliction is 
heavy, but it is because it is filled with gold ; the voice of af- 
fliction is stern, but its wounds arc the probings of a skillful 
chirurgeou ; the countenance o[ affliction is lowering, but it is the 
frown of a parent, soon to be followed by the serene and radiant 
smile of unclouded affection. 

Yours, my dear sir, has been a life of incident, of stir, of agi- 
tation, of heroic doing and suffering. You have often been 
placed in positions where your sell'-; i ssession, your wisdom, 
your calm energy, and your noble heroism have awakened the 
admiration of all beholders. But never, on any other occasion, 
have y>u displayed so true a wisdom, or appeared invested with 
so sublime a dignity, as when receiving the baptismal waters, 
and seated at the communion-table of our common Lcrd. 



543 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I remember well the anguish you suffered a few years ago, 
under the loss of an estimable and beloved daughter. I remem- 
ber also your declaration that Mrs. Clay, though deeply dis- 
tressed, was yet amply sustained and solaced by her religi< n. 
and the earnest expression of your wish that you had the same 
source of consolation, and of your hope that you some day 
should possess it. From that time to the present I have felt a 
deep interest in your religious state and welfare, and a belief 
that you would at length find the treasure you desired— a part 
in the purchased blessings of the Gospel. And such, I hope, is 
now the case, and that vou find in this the heaviest affliction of 
your life — the loss of a talented, generous, and chivalrous son — 
all the consolation which the Gospel is fitted to bestow, and as- 
suredly does bestow, upon all who cordially embrace it. For 
what can religion be worth, if there is not more in God to com- 
fort us than there can be in the loss of any, even the dearest 
and most cherished, of his creatures, to distress us ? 

Can you not pass a day or two with us at the Oaklands, when 
on your way to New York ? We are quite in the country, be- 
ing two miles distant from Burlington ; have an elevated and 
airy situation, and are surrounded by venerable forest-trees, 
whose grateful shade defends us, even in the height of summer, 
from the scorching heats of the sun. 

AY hen you write to your son John, be pleased to convey to 
him the expression of my warm regard and friendship. Mrs. 
Wines desires to be respectfully presented to you. 



GENERAL TAYLOR TO MR. CLAY. 

Head Quarters, Army of Occupation, 
Camp near Monterey, November 4, 1847. 

My dear Sir. — By yesterday's mail I had the gratification of 

receiving your very welcome letter of the 27th September. Rest 

assured that nothing has transpired, nothing can transpire, to 

impair the amicable and kindly relations which it has been my 

pleasure and pride for so long time to maintain with you. 

Hints, similar to those to which you refer, have been thrown 

out in letters which I have recently received ; but they have 

hid no influence whatever upon me ; not one word has served, 



OF HENBY OLAT. 549 

iii the remotest degree, to prejudice me against yourself or your 
friends, in either personal or political relations. 

I fully agree with you in the oec< ity for more deliberation 
in the selection of a candidate for the Presidency, and I truly 
regret that my name should have been used in thai relation. It 
has hern permitted with the greatest reluctance on my part, and 
only from a sense of duty to the country. My repugnance to 
being a candidate before the nation for that exalted office has 
been frankly and sincerely made known. Most truly is it my 
hope that before next November the party may select a Whig 
in all respects worthy of the confidence of the country. To a 
mutual friend of ours I have recently made this announcement, 
asserting my greater desire for the quiet of private occupations, 
as not only a more appropriate termination to my services as a 
soldier, and more consonant with my earnest wishes, but partic- 
ularly proper in reference to my limited acquaintance with mat- 
ters of civil and national polity. I stated to him specifically 
that I was ready to stand aside, if you or any other Whig were 
the choice of the party, and that I sincerely hoped such might 
be their decision. 

The importance of harmony and good feeling among the op- 
ponents of the present dynasty, is by no one appreciated more 
considerately than by myself, and whatever may be the decision 
of the party, I shall be studiously guarded in this particular, and 
strive to lend my best endeavors to the preservation of unity. 

Permit me to repeat, that whatever representations may be 
made to me, from any source, conveying any expression of disre- 
spect toward yourself or your friends, or that either entertain 
unfriendly feelings toward me, be assured, my dear sir, they 
will be repelled and discredited, as they justly merit. 

I am much rejoiced that I have this opportunity to assure you, 
not only of my frank and full confidence in your friendship and 
kindly feelings, but that I warmly appreciate your wishes for 
my own success, and your expressed desire to contribute to it. 

With my cordial assurance that what is herein written is dic- 
tated by the same candid and friendly spirit, so evident in your 
own letter, I subscribe myself, most sincerely and faithfully, 
your friend. 



550 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO MRS. JAMES B. CLAY. 

Ashland, November 13, 1847. 

My dear Susan, — 1 thank you for your letter, which I should 
have sooner acknowledged, but that I was a week absent from 
home, attending the trial of a cause in Anderson. 

I send you the last letter I have received from James. I hope 
you have still later. His trip will, I hope and believe, benefit 
his health. 

I am delighted to hear from you that my dear Lucy is better. 
May God bless and restore to health one in whose welfare I feel 
the greatest solicitude. 

At your house every thing goes on as well as could be ex- 
pected. Here we are all well. My best regards to your father 
and your family. Kiss dear Lucy and James for me. 



WILLIAM C. TRESTON TO MR. CLAY. 

Columbia, November 2S, 1S47. 

My dear Sir, — Your speech* is not only equal to your repu- 
tation, but in my judgment even passes what you have heretofore 
done. The eloquence with which you have expressed yourself 
gave me delight, while the dignity, wisdom and lofty spirit of 
patriotism throughout it inspire me with a sort of awe, and fill 
me with solemn emotions. It is a very noble State paper. It 
gave me the more profound satisfaction as it had been preceded 
by rumors of a different character. I can not but believe that 
it will be of great value to the country, and arrest the fatal po- 
licy which is hurrying us to the most disastrous consequences. 



GENERAL TAYLOR TO MR. CLAY. 

Baton Rouge, La., December 28, 1847. 

My dear Sir, — Your kind and acceptable letter of the 13th 
instant, congratulating me on my safe return to the United 
Stales, and fur the com] n itary and flattering terms you have 
been pleased to notice my services, I beg leave to tender you 
my sincere thanks. 

* On the Mexican War, at Lexington. 



OF TIKNIIY CLAY. 551 

The warm and hearty reception I have met with from so 
many of my fellow-citizens, where I have mingled among them 
since my return, in addition to their manifestations of their high 
appreciation and approval of my conduct while in Mexico, h;is 
been truly gratifying, and has ten-fold more than compensated 
me for the dangers and toils I have encountered in the public 
service, as well as for the privations in being so long separated 
from my family and friends ; yet there arc circumstances con- 
nected with my operations in that country which I can never 
forget, and which I must always think of with feelings of the 
deepest sorrow and regret. 

I left Mexico after it was determined the column under my 
orders was to act on the defensive, and after the capital of the 
enemy had fallen into our hands, and their army dispersed, on a 
short leave of absence, to visit my family, and to attend to some 
important private affairs, which could not well be arranged with- 
out my being present, and which had been too long neglected. 
After reaching New Orleans, I informed the Secretary of War 
that should my presence in Mexico be deemed necessary at any 
time, I was ready to return, and that a communication on that or 
any other subject connected with my public duties would reach 
me if addressed to this place. I therefore feel bound to remain 
here, or in the vicinity, until the propor authorities at Washing- 
ton determine what disposition is to be made of or with me. 
Under this state of things I do not expect to have it in my 
power to visit Kentucky, although it would afford me much real 
pleasure to mix once more with my numerous relatives and 
friends in that patriotic State, to whom I am devotedly attached ; 
as well as again to visit, if not the place of my nativity, where 
I was reared from infancy to early manhood. And let me assure 
you I duly appreciate your kind invitation to visit you at your 
own hospitable home, and should any thing occur which will 
enable me to avail myself of it, I will embrace the opportunity 

with much real pleasure. 

I regret to say, I found my family, or rather Mrs. Taylor, on 
my return, in feeble health, as well as my affairs in any other 
than a prosperous condition; the latter was, ho • be < - 

pected, and I must devote what time I can spare, or can 1 e 
be spared from my public duties, in putting them in order as far 
as I can do so. 

Should circumstances so turn out as will induce you to visit 



552 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HEXRY CLAY. 

Washington the present winter, I trust yon will take every pre- 
caution to protect yourself while traveling from the effects of 
the severe cold weather you must necessarily encounter in cross- 
ing the mountains, particularly so after having passed several of 
the last winters in the South. 

The letter which you did me the honor to address me, referred 
to, reached me on the eve of my leaving Monterey to return to 
the United States, and was at once replied to, which reply I 
flatter myself reached you shortly after writing your last com- 
munication ; in which I stated, although I had received some 
letters from individuals in Kentucky calculated, or perhaps in- 
tended, to produce unkind feelings on my part toward you, even 
admitting such was the case, their object has not been accom- 
plished in the slightest degree, and I hope it will never be the 
case. 

Please present me most kindly to your excellent lady, and 
wishing you and yours continued health and prosperity, I re- 
main, with respect and esteem, etc. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1848, 1849. 

MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, January 16, 1848. 

My dear Son. — I received this moment your favor of the 10th, 
and was glad to hear that all are well at home. My cause is not 
likely to be reached, I fear, for two or three weeks, if it be 
reached at all. I have not changed my purpose on the subject 
to which you refer. I have only suspended the execution of it 
in deference to some friends who fear that bad consequences to 
the cause and the country might ensue if I were immediately to 
execute it. 

Mr. Jacobs is to be married to-morrow, and I shall go to his 
wedding. 

I send a list of some plants which Mr. Prince has forwarded 
to me. 

I am sorry that you indulge in bad spirits. You are wrong to 
do so, and I think you have no occasion to do so. You have 
much to cheer and animate you. More by far than most per 
sons. 

My love to Susan and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washinoton, February 1, 1848. 
My dear Son, — I received your letter informing me of the oc- 
currence which has taken H. E. Erwin to New Orleans. I am 
deeply concerned about it ; but I can not but think that Mr. 
Prentiss will not fight him. If he should decline doing so 1 



554 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

hope Henry will let it drop there, without resorting to any meas- 
ure of violence or denunciation. 

I have sonic hope of getting my cause tried next week, al- 
though there is not, I regret to say, entire certainty in regard 
to it. 

I inclose a bill of lading for a barrel of sperm oil, purchased 
Mr. Coffin, which I will thank you to hand to your mother. 

I adhere to my purpose communicated to you before I left 
home. I have suspended the 'execution of it for the present, in 
consequence of strong assurances that if I take the step now it 
will be ruinous to the Whig party. It places me in a state of 
painful embarrassment. 

My love to Susan and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO H. T. DUNCAN. 

Washington, February 15, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — I received your letter of the 9th instant and I 
was gratified with the proceedings in Bourbon, of which it gave 
a full account. I presume through other channels you arc ad- 
vised of the state of public affairs here. I see no prospect of 
peace at present. Upon my arrival here the strongest appeals 
have been made to me to take no step Withdrawing my name 
from among those from which a selection is to be made of a can- 
didate for the Presidency. I have been assured that, if I did, it 
would lead to a prostration of the Whig party, especially in the 
free States. Then they say that General Taylor can not be sup- 
ported in his present noncommittal position. Some doubt, if he 
were to assume distinct Whig ground, whether he could obtain 
the Whig support. I have suspended any definitive action. 

Great surprise exists here as to the hot haste of our Taylor 
friends in Kentucky. Why is it ? I am often asked, without 
ig able to give any very satisfactory answer. What will be 
the issue of the two Conventions in Frankfort next week ? No- 
body knows here. After the long period of time during which 
' ' vc had the happiness to enjoy the friendship and confidence 
of that State, what have I done, it is inquired, to lose it? 

Those Conventions, if they would act wisely, I think, would 
acquiesce in the National Convention and leave their own dele- 
gates to act freely, according to all circumstances. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 555 

My suit has been argued iu the Supreme Court, and I shall 

leave this place next week for Philadelphia, where some busi- 
ness takes me. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL COMBS. 

Washington, Febrnary 18, 1S48. 

My dear General, — I received your favor this morning. I 
have written this winter no letters to Kentucky on public affairs 
but in answer to letters which I received, and of this description 
only three. That which you thought ought to have been ad- 
dressed to you was of that character. 

I remain in my passive position in regard to the Presidency. 
To this course I have been strongly urged. It is generally ap- 
proved. Whether and when I may change it depends on circum- 
stances. There is no occasion for precipitate action. Mine at 
least shall be deliberate ; having due regard to country, party, 
friends. If I were to credit all I hear and see, there would be no 
doubt of my election, if nominated by the National Convention, 
with my consent ; but experience has brought diffidence, and I 
do not lend too ready an car to even agreeable things. 

I learn from New York that there is not a particle of doubt 
that, if I were a candidate, the vote of that State would be given 
me by an immense majority. The Legislature (I mean the 
Whigs) have had a caucus, in which they passed a resolution, 
with I believe unanimity, designating me, although not naming 
me, and excluding our friend General Taylor, though not nam- 
ing him. Our Kentucky and other friends ought to know what 
an up-hill business that is of supporting the General in the free 
States ; and yet I lose no suitable occasion to impress on all 
union, harmony and concord. 

I am fully convinced that no preference will be expressed next 
week in Virginia, at Richmond, for General Taylor ; most prob- 
ably none will be expressed foi any one. 

I expect to be in Philadelphia the two or three last days of this 
month and the first week of the next. If I can give any im- 
pulse to your business there, I shall not fail to do it. 



556 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, February 21, 1848. 

My dear Son, — Mr. Adams was striken to-day in his seat in 
the House of Representatives with paralysis, and, if not now 
dt ad. it is believed that he can not live until night. Both houses 
immediately adjourned. 

The court has not yet decided my cause, but as it has a press 
of business before it, I do not draw any unfavorable conclusion 
from the delay. I can not lose it. 

I shall leave this city the day after to-morrow for Philadelphia 
on Mr. Shelby's business, and shall be detained there about a 
week. 

Mr. Trist has certainly concluded a treaty with the Mexican 
Commissioners, which is now in this city. I understand that it 
cedes the boundary of the Rio Bravo, all New Mexico, and Up- 
per California ; and that we are to pay fifteen millions of dollars, 
besides assuming the payment of the debt due from Mexico to 
our citizens. I am told that the treaty will be submitted to the 
Senate for its advice, etc. 

I wrote to your mother that I had received the check which 
you sent me from New Orleans. 

My love to Susan, Lucy, and your other children. 



JOHN M'LEAN TO MR. CLAY. 

Cincinnati, March 1, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — Your favor from Baltimore was lately received 
at this place, it having been forwarded to me by Mr. Botts. 

The manifestations of confidence and affection by your fel- 
low-citizens in your late tour must be gratifying to you, as they 
certainly have been to your friends. No higher honors could be 
bestowed than those which you have received. 

No one can so fully understand and appreciate the importance 
of your position, as connected with the future, as yourself; and 
this knowledge best qualifies you to determine your course of 
action. Standing in the advance of all your compeers in age 
and hi renown, you owe much to yourself. But your fame is 
not exclusively your own. It belongs also to the nation. No 
one friendly to his country could desire a step to be taken or 



OF HENRY CLAY. 557 

omitted by yen. which might not result, as it would be de- 
signed, for the general good. 

You can not be insensible to the claims of duty, but your 
friends have no right to expect from you personal sacrifices. I 
can only repeat what I said to you in Washington, that if, on a 
full view of the whole ground, your friends believe, and your 
own judgment shall concur with theirs, that there exists the 
highest probability of success, you ought not to withhold your 
name. But, in all frankness, I will say that you ought not to 
enter into a doubtful contest. Your fame is of too much value 
to yourself and to your country to compromise it, in any degree, 
on a hazardous result. 

Political success is no longer a test of merit or qualification. 
Had this been otherwise, you would long since have been at the 
head of the Government. If your name shall he brought before 
the country, with your assent, I shall feel the utmost solicitude 
for your success. 



GENERAL TAYLOR TO MR. CLAY. 

Baton Rovge, La., April 30, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — Your highly esteemed letter of the 4th inst. 
was duly received, for which you have my best thanks. It was 
highly gratifying to me to hear from you, and to learn you had 
returned to Ashland, after so long a travel during the most in- 
clement season of the year, in good health, which, I flatter my- 
self, you will long continue to enjoy. Your views, as regards 
our respective chances to succeed to the Presidency at the com- 
ing election, are entitled to the greatest respect and consideration, 
as your opportunities of knowing the opinion of the people gen- 
erally throughout the country, as regards that matter, are much 
better than mine can possibly be, having recently made a visit 
to the seat of the General Government, to three or four of our 
largest cities, and passed through, into, and along the borders of 
several of the strongest States in the Union ; while I have, since 
my return from Mexico, for the most part remained stationary at 
an out-of-the-way place, where I see or hear but little of politi- 
cal movements or matters, save through the newspapers and let- 
ters, for the most part written and published by politicians, the 
editors and writers of the same arc sometimes mistaken in their 
views on the subject of President-making, as other people. 



558 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I conceive I am, owing to circumstances which I could not 
well avoid, placed in rather a peculiar situation, as regards my 
being a candidate for the Presidency. It is well known to 
those who had my confidence, that I was very much opposed, 
when the matter was first agitated in several of the public jour- 
nals, which was soon after the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca 
de la Palma, to my name being used as a candidate for that 
office, which I resisted as far as I could well do so, stating to 
those around me that I had no aspirations for civil office of any 
kind ; that my greatest ambition was to bring the war we were 
engaged in to a speedy and honorable termination ; that by be- 
ing considered a candidate for that situation, would have the 
effect to make the President hostile to me even without his be- 
ing aware of it, and in such a way as to impair my usefulness 
in the field, if not to destroy it, as regarded the object I had 
nearest my heart, which has been realized to the full extent of 
my expectation ; for ever since the battle of Monterey, until 
I left Mexico, the hand of the Executive was laid heavily on 
me. 

My name continued to be constantly referred to through some 
of the newspapers, from the time previously mentioned, as a 
candidate for the Presidency, until the battle of Buena Yista, 
soon after which I began to receive many letters from some of 
the first political men of the nation, and from several States, in 
which they stated that it was in contemplation to briug my 
name before the country as the Whig candidate for the Presi- 
dency, in November, 1S48. in reply, I frankly stated my ob- 
jections to their doing so ; among others, that I was no politi- 
cian, and that it might be considered presumption in me to 
aspire to that high station, when there were such statesmen who 
might be elevated to it as yourself, Mr. Crittenden, Judge 
McLean, and John M. Clayton, and hundreds of others unknown 
to me, who were, I conceived, much better qualified to preside 
over the destinies of the country than I was ; that you were my 
first choice, nor did I wish to be in the way of any prominent 
WTiig who might be brought out for that office. To which they 
replied — some of whom were your warm political and personal 
friends — that yen would not again permit your name to be 
brought before the country as a candidate, and that they did not 
believe any other Whig, owing to events which had taken 
place, was so likely to be elected, in opposition to the party in 



OF HENRY CLAY. 559 

power, ns myself; and that I owed it to the country to permit 
my name to he used for said object ; that T "could not avoid 
being a candidate if I would, and oughl not if I could." Under 
this state of things I reluctantly yielded to their wishes. About 
the same time, I informed a di hed member of Congress, 

that the arrangements for the next Presidential ign were to 

be made during the approaching session of that body, which would 
shortly meet ; and if. after consulting the members of both branches 
of the same, it was thought advisable to take up some other in- 
dividual of the party who was more available, he was authorized 
to withdraw my name from the contest, and if it was you who 
was fixed on, so much the better. After writing said lett ! 
received the proceedings of the people called together in primary 
assemblies in several of the States, nominating me as a candi- 
date for the Presidency at the next election, and in several in- 
stances stating it was understood that, in the event of any dis- 
tinguished Whig being brought out as a candidate, I would at 
once withdraw my name ; but urging me not to do so, but to con- 
tinue as a candidate under all circumstances, on the grounds I 
had taken, which was not to be the exclusive candidate of any 
party, etc. ; and on reaching New Orleans many friends called 
on me to let it be publicly announced that my name as a candi- 
date for the office in question would not be withdrawn, let who 
would be in the field, which I consented to, and advised my 
friends in Washington of my change in that respect, without 
delay. I therefore now consider myself in the hands of the 
people, a portion of whom have placed my name before the 
country, for the highest office in their gift, without any agency 
line in the matter, and if they should think proper to drop 
me and take another, which they ought to do, provided they 
can fix on a more available candidate, and one better qualified 
to serve them, and cast their votes for him at the proper time, 
and should succeed in electing him, it will neither be a source 
of mortification or disappointment to me. On the contrary, if 
he is honest, truthful, and patriotic, T will rejoice at the result. 
And I can say, in all sincerity, that should you receive the nomi- 
nation of the Whig National Convention, which is to meet m 
Philadelphia in June, and should be elected in November, but 
few of your friends will be more gratified than myself. And 
should you be unsuccessful, i rid should it be thought your being 
a candidate had the effect of preventing my election, it will not 



5G0 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

produce the slightest feeling of unkindness toward you, but T 
will continue to cherish those kind feelings which I have enter- 
tained for you for many years, which I hope are reciprocal. 



MR. CLAY TO SAMUEL HAIGHT. 

Ashland; April 15, 1 
My dear Sir, — I received to-day your favor of the 10th in- 
stant. Prior to this you will have received my note addressed to 
the public announcing my assent to the submission of my name 
to the consideration of the National Convention. It so fully ex- 
plained my views and feelings that I have nothing to add to it. 
I do not see how it is possible for any exception to be taken 
to it. 

I concur with you in regretting the course of the " National In- 
telligencer" in regard to the French Revolution ; but I think it 
ought not to operate, and I hope it will not to the prejudice of 
the Whig party. The editors expressly disclaim being the or- 
gan of that party, and the resolutions of congratulation to the 
French people have been passed, in both houses of Congress, by 
almost unanimous votes. My own opinion is, that our sympa- 
thies and congratulations were due to the French people for the 
Revolution which they had effected. In expressing these senti- 
ments, we should not have been committed to the sanction of any 
future excesses which may be perpetrated in the progress of the 
revolution, if any such should unfortunately occur. My hope is 
that the foreign powers, profiting by the folly of their former in- 
terference with France, will abstain from all exterior pressure 
upon her, and that she, profiting by the errors which were com- 
mitted in the former Revolution, will peacefully establish, with- 
out the spilling of blood, a free Government upon the basis of 
popular representation. 

No one can doubt my feelings and sympathies who has any 
recollection of the course which I took in regard to the Spanish 
American Republics, and to Greece. While France has my cor- 
di:il ;ni(l hearty wishes for the triumphant establishment of liberty. 
I shall lie ready to express the deepest regrets. if the Revolution 
should take an unfortunate turn. 

I request you to present my respectful compliments to Mrs., 
Haight. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 561 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE. 

Ashland, May 28, l-l 5 . 

My dear Sib, — T received your kind letter of the 10th instant, 
and I feel greatly obliged by the confidence in me which it 
evinces. You desire, in the event of there not being a majority 
of the Whig Convention disposed to nominate me, to know who 
among the distinguished names before the Convention would be 
my first, second and third choice. I have hitherto maintained a 
position of entire impartiality between my competitors for the 
nomination. It was dictated by considerations of delicacy to- 
ward them. I do not think that I ought to deviate from it. 
To you, as soon as to any friend I have, I would make the de- 
sired communication, if I were not restrained by the motives 
suggested. 

I hope that your apprehensions of a stormy Convention will 
not be realized ; but that it will be found animated by a spirit 
of concord and patriotism, and seeking to do the best it can for 
our common country. 



CHARLES F. ADAMS TO MR. CLAY. 

Qcincy, May 24, 1843. 
My dear Sir, — On behalf of my mother and the few surviv- 
ing relatives of my late father, as well as for myself, permit me 
to express the sense which I entertain of the kindness expressed 
in your letter of the 15th instant. Much as the sympathy has 
been which the painful event to which you are pleased to allude 
has called out from almost all quarters, from none could it have 
come more gratefully than from yourself. A kind providence 
had by a preceding warning in a measure prepared me to expect 
the blow, but I confess I was wholly unprepared for so deep and 
general a manifestation of the public regard. Besides the sooth- 
ing influence of this result to the feelings of those immediately 
connected with him, I trust, it may have a wider bearing to 
prove to all that class of statesmen of which you as well as he 
are a prominent example, that the most vehement opposition of 
rivals and cotemporaries, though attended with temporary suc- 
cess, avails little to cloud the deliberate judgment of a later 
time. 

36 



562' PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Suffer me, sir, most respectfully to reciprocate the good will 
which you are pleased to express toward myself. I have always 
looked back with pleasure to the days in which as a very young 
man I had some extraordinary opportunities of acquaintance with 
the most distinguished men of the country. I have never been 
anxious to alloy the impressions obtained in Washington at that 
period with new ones to be found in the later society of that 
capital. Had the statesmen of that day continued to guide the 
destinies of the country, its prospects at this time would have 
been somewhat different from what they are. But the die is cast. 



DAVID GRAHAM TO MR. CLAY. 

v Yors, June 9, ] 
My dear Sir, — The mis-representatives of the Whig party 
have at length consummated the greatest act of nati 1 injus- 
tice it was in their power to perform, in the nomination of a man 
as their candidate for the Presidency who has rejected the prin- 
ciples and spurned the organization and discipline of the Whigs. 
The intelligence has fallen upon the honest and true-hearted 
Whigs of this city, and I doubt not of the country at large, like 
a clap of thunder ; and the execrations of the mass of the party 
here, at the treachery by which they have again been overtaken, 
are both loud and deep. For yourself, my dear sir, it will be 
gratifying to know that this last, act of ingratitude has i ' 
served to bind you more closely to the hearts of your friends ; 
and I do but justice to their feelings and my own when 1 say 
that a signal, and I trust, withering rebuke will be promptly ad- 
ministered to the stock-jobbing politicians for whose selfish pur- 
poses this outrage upon us has been perpetrated. To you no 
station can bring higher honor than that which you now enjoy ; 
and, so far as you are individually concerned, it is not too much 
to say that an honorable retirement, accompanied with the heart- 
felt affection of the whole nation, must be more grateful than 
the turmoil and anxieties attendant upon office, however exalted. 
But it can not and will not be forgotten, that in your person the 
integrity and the hopes of the Whig parly have been stricken 
down, and their existence as a party blasted and destroyed. s ' I 
1 trust the day is far distant when a forgiveness will be extended 
to the base combination between the heartless rivals whom you 



OF HENRY CLAY. 503 

have outstripped, both in unexampled devotion to your country 
and in the favor of your countrymen, and the truckling harpies, 
who, like the followers of a camp, are bent upon plunder all i. 

I know, my dear sir, that you will indulge in no personal re- 
grets at the issue. But at the same time, allow me, as one of 
your truest friends, as one who from the moment when I was in- 
. ted with the right to express an opinion upon public affairs, 
have been a Whig, and a Clay Whig, to beg of you, as an act 
of justice to your faithful friends, to withhold any expression of 
approval of the action of this Convention. Your magnanimity 
will be appealed to by those who have stabbed you and outraged 
us, as it was when we were betrayed in 1S39 ; but I trust that 
the appeal will meet with a different response. 

In addressing you in this earnest and emphatic manner, I feel 
that I am taking a great, perhaps an unwarrantable liberty, with 
you. I plead, as my apology, my integrity as a Whig and my 
unalterable veneration for yourself. I speak, moreover, the sen- 
timents of your hosts of friends in New York, who only find 
relief from the despondency which weighs them down, in the 
proud reflection that they have battled to the last under your 
glorious and honored name. 



WILLIS HALL TO MR. CLAY. 

New York, June, 1S48. 

My dear Mr. Clay, — 1 write to you in the fullness of my 
heart, not to condole with you, for though I feel all the personal 
regard toward you which one man can feel for another, personal 
considerations are absorbed in those of a public nature. 

The Presidency could have added nothing to your fame, and 
would have detracted much from your comfort. 

This Government has had a national existence but little more 
than sixty years, during nearly forty of which it has boon guid- 
ed by your counsels. Glorious period ! You may justly regard 
it with exultation ! During this period you have demonstrated 
the great problem of the feasibility and permanency - f popular 
government, and almost every nation in Europe, incited by the 
example, is now convulsed with the effort to imitate it. During 
this period you have impressed upon the country that high and 
honorable spirit in our intercourse with foreign nations, that 



564 PKIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

spirit of conciliation and union among the States which have 
preserved us at home and made us respected abroad. 

The uninterrupted and unprecedented prosperity of our national 
career has not been the work of accident. Three times, at least. 
the car of state would have taken the wrong road, if not the 
road to destruction, hut for your guiding hand: once in 1810—12, 
once in 1S19-20, once in 1S30-31. Will no emergency of the 
kind ever occur again ? When the next storm howls around us, 
this people, guilty and appalled, will shrink back covered with 
fear and dismay at the mischief they have done. You may say 
without arrogance, " Weep not for me, hut rather weep for your- 
selves !" As the scroll of our history unrolls itself, your times 
will stand out in bold and bolder relief until it becomes the 
golden age of some future people, perhaps as unlike the present 
as the miserable herd that now defile the streets of Rome are 
unlike the associates of the elder Brutus. Convulsions and ster- 
ility immediately and abruptly following a tract of rich and ele- 
vated fertility, make the period of your counsels a stand mark to 
all future time. 

We are on the eve of great events. Slavery will now become 
an immediate and bitter subject of dispute, and will not be re- 
linquished until it is extinguished or the Union dissolved. I feel 
little disposition to commiserate the sufferings of the slave re- 
gion. They have brought it upon themselves; they have thrust 
slavery upon us in the most offensive way ; the policy of slavery 
governs all their actions ; their conduct in the Convention will 
not be forgotten ; the means they have taken to render them- 
selves as they fancied more secure on this subject, has precipita- 
ted the discussion accompanied with an acrimony which will 
not tend to a friendly adjustment. The Whigs in this quarter 
every where are joining the Barnburners, ready to make the slave 
question the great issue in future. The next Presidential elec- 
tion (four years hence) will turn upon that point. A Barnburner 
will be elected. 

The Whig party, as such, is dead. The very name will be 
abandoned, should Taylor be elected, for " the Taylor party." 
The last Whig Convention committed the double crime of sui- 
cide and parricide. I loved that party, and whenever and wher- 
ever I shall hereafter discover any portion of my fellow-citizens 
guided by its principles, I shall attach myself to them ; meantime 
I consider myself absolved from all political connection. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 565 

It was resolved to have a ratification meeting here as usual. 
The General Committee met on Monday evening, they were sur- 
rounded by more than three thousand people spontaneously 
leeted, and the Committee was compelled to postpone the meeting 

indefinitely, in hopes that General Taylor's letter of accept- 
ance will place himself more distinctly upon Whig ground. 
They will wait in vain. The Tayloritcs begin to think Tay- 
lor's election is not quite as certain as they supposed. 

I hasten to the sole object of this long letter, which is to assure 
you of my undiminished and unalterable regard. Mrs. Hall 
begs me to join her in the expression of these sentiments and 
the respectful assurances of our highest esteem. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

AsntAND, June 22, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — I wished much to see you, and hope soon to 
meet you. I got your letter from Choles' on your way home, 
and I have received to-day your favor of the 20th with the news- 
paper you sent me. Judge Robertson has returned, and has given 
me much information ; but there are some points which you can 
best elucidate. 

I shall take no active or partisan part in the canvass, but re- 
main quiet, submitting to what has been done so far as relates to 
myself. I think this is the course prompted by self-respect and 
personal dignity. I shall attend no ratification meetings. How 
can I sanction and approve what the seven delegates from Ken- 
tucky did in the Convention, without virtually condemning what 
the five delegates did? How can I publicly and warmly sup- 
port a candidate who declared that, in a reversal of conditions, 
he would not have supported, but opposed me ? I am not mis- 
led by the humbuggery of the Louisiana delegates. What cre- 
dentials, what instructions had they ? They showed none, and 
had none. 

In November, if I am spared. I shall, with all the lights then 
before me, go to the polls and vote for that candidate whose elec- 
tion I believe will be least prejudicial to the country. Of course 
I can never vote for Cass. 

It is too soon to form any satisfactory opinion as to the i^sue 
of the contest. Neither candidate seems to In' entirely 



566 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ble to the party which supports him. And T suppose that party 
will probably succeed between whose members there will be 
ultimately the least division and the greatest intermediate recon- 
ciliation. 

P. S. The Governor very handsomely tendered me the Ex- 
ecutive appointment to the Senate, which I this day declined ac- 
cepting. 



MR. CLAY TO A COMMITTEE OF LOUISVILLE. 

bxand, June 28, 1848. 
Gentlemen, — I received your favor adverting to certain re- 
ports in circulation in respect to me. with regard to the approach- 
ing Presidential election, and requesting information in relation 
to them. 

Recognizing you as among my staunchest, truest, and most faith- 
ful friends, I shall ever feel under the greatest obligations to you, 
and shall be always happy when I can command your approba- 
tion, or do any thing agreeable to you. But I should not be 
entitled to your esteem if 1 did not continue to act, as I have 
ever endeavored to be governed, according to my own conscien- 
tious convictions of duty. 

As far as I was personally concerned, I submitted to the decision 
of the late National Convention at Philadelphia. It has relieved 
me from much painful suspense and anxiety, if I had been nomi- 
nated ; and from great vexation, care, and responsibility, if I had 
been subsequently elected. I shall do nothing in opposition to 
it. I shall give no countenance or encouragement to any third 
party movements, if any should be attempted against it. I de- 
sire to remain henceforward in undisturbed tranquillity and per- 
fect repose. I have been much importuned from various quarters 
to endorse General Taylor as a good Whig, who will, if elected, 
act on Whig principles and carry out Whig measures. But how 
can I do that? Can I say that in his hands Whig measures will 
be safe and secure, when he refuses to pledge himself to their 
support ? when some of his most active friends say they 
are obsolete ? when lie is presented as a no-party candidate ? 
when the Whig Convention at Philadelphia refuse to recognize 
or proclaim its attachment to : : principles or measi and 



OF HENBY CLAY. 667 

actually laid on the table resolutions having that object in 
view ? 

Ought I to come out as a warm and partisan supporter of a 
candidate who, in a reversal of our conditions, announced his 
purpose to remain as a candidate, and consequently to oppose 
me, so far as it depended upon himself? Tell me what reci- 
procity is in this? Magnanimity is a noble virtue, and I have 
always endeavored to practice it ; but it has its limits, and the 
line of demarcation between it and meanness is not always 
clearly discernible. I have been reminded of the course I pur- 
sued in the case of the nomination of General Harrison in 1839. 
But General Harrison was not merely a Whig in name. He 
was committed and pledged to the support of the measures of 
the Whigs. He did not declare that he would stand as a can- 
didate in opposition to the nomination of the Convention. He 
was, moreover, a civilian of varied and extensive experience. 

I lost the nomination, as I firmly believe, by the conduct of 
the majorities in the delegations from Kentucky in Congress and 
in the (' v tion, and I am called upon to ratify what they did, 
in contravention, as I also believe, of the wishes of a large ma- 
jority of the people of Kentucky ! I am asked to sanction and 
approve the course of the seven delegates from Kentucky, who, 
in violation of the desire of their constituents, voted against me, 
and virtually to censure and condemn the five who voted for 
me ! 

It seems to me, gentlemen, that self-respect, the consistency 
of my character, and my true fame, require that I should take 
no action or partisan agency in the existing contest. If it was 
between Locofoco principles and Whig principles, I would en- 
gage in it with all the ardor of which I am capable ; but alas ! 
I fear that the Whig party is dissolved, and that no longer are 
there Y s to excite zeal and to stimulate exertion. 

I am compelled, most painfully, to believe that the Whig party 
has been overthr wn by a mere personal party, just as much 
having that character as the Jackson party possessed it twenty 
years ago. 

In such a contest lean feel no enthusiasm; and lam not 
:le enough to affect what I do not feel. There is un- 
doubtedly a choice, but I regard it as a choice of evils, which I 
will make for myself in due time, under the influence of the 
great principles I h I have so long contended. I think 



568 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

my friends ought to leave me quiet and undisturbed in my re- 
tirement. T have served the country faithfully and to the ut- 
most of my poor ability. If I have not done more, it has not 
been for want of heart or inclination. My race is run. During 
the short time which remains to me in this world, I desire to 
preserve untarnished that character which so many have done 
me the honor to respect and esteem. They may rest assured 
that I will intentionally do nothing to forfeit or weaken their 
good opinion of me. Abstaining henceforward from all active 
part in public affairs, and occupying myself with my private and 
more solemn duties, I shall, if spared, go to the polls at the 
proper season, like any other private citizen, and cast my vote 
as I may deem best and safest for the principles I have sus- 
tained and for my country. Seeking to influence nobody, I 
hope to be permitted to pursue for myself the dictates of my 
own conscience. 

Such is the view which I have of the present posture of the 
Presidential question, and my relations to it. More light may be 
hereafter thrown upon it, which I shall be most happy to receive, 
and if it should point to a different course of duty, I shall not 
hesitate to follow it. 

I address this letter to you in consequence of yours, and from 
the friendly regard I entertain for you. I should have preferred 
that you had not thought it necessary to appeal to me. It is 
manifest from the tenor of my reply that it is not intended for 
publication. I am, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO G. W. CURTIS. 

Ashland, July 4, 1S4S. 
Dear Sir, — I comply so far with the request contained in 
your note of the 23d ultimo, as to acknowledge its receipt, and 
to say that, submitting to the decision of the Philadelphia Con- 
vention, so far as I was personally affected by it, I can not give 
my countenance or encouragement to the use of my name in 
connection with the Presidency. Abstaining from the expres- 
sion of any opinion in regard to the nomination which was 
tually made, 1 will only observe that Ohio, Indiana, and Massa- 
chusetts, and other Northern States, had it in their power to 
prevent it, if they had chosen to unite upon one whose attach- 



OF HENKT CLAY. 569 

ment to the Whig cause was never doubted ; but they did not 
think proper to do so. Ought they then to complain of what 
was dour, upon the ground that General Taylor is not pledged 
to the support of Whig measures and principles : 

I tender my thanks to you for the friendly sentiments toward 
me which you were kind enough to express, and I am, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO MISS SUSAN ALLIBONE. 

Ashland, July 19, 1S48. 

If I have not before written to you, my dear Miss Susan, I 
pray you to believe that my silence has not proceeded from any 
want of regard to you or from any insensibility to the kindness 
which you have displayed toward me, in your obliging letter of 
the 4th March last, and in presenting me with the valuable writ- 
ings of Archbishop Leighton. 

With perfect truth and candor I say that I have rarely ever 
made a visit to any individual in my life that afforded me higher 
satisfaction than that which I derived from seeing you. Your 
physical misfortunes, your resignation to the will of our Maker, 
your gentle and intelligent countenance, and your interesting 
conversation, all combined to give to the short interview I had 
with you a thrilling interest. I have oftentimes thought of it, 
and have frequently described the touching scene to my friends. 

I have looked enough into the volume which you kindly sent 
me to be convinced that it merits your high commendation of 
it ; and I intend to give the whole of it an attentive perusal. 

I am very thankful, dear Miss Susan, for the friendly manner 
in which you allude to the domestic afflictions with which it has 
pleased Providence to visit me. I have had a large share of them. 
Since my return home another has been added to the former 
number in the death of a most promising grandson, at New Or- 
leans, under circumstances which greatly aggravated our grief. 
I am happy, however, to tell you, on the other hand, that the 
sweet little granddaughter, whose case of spinal affection I men- 
tioned to you, is much better, runs about with the free use of 
her limbs, and we hope will have her strength and health fully 
re-established. In behalf of her I thank you for the little book 
which you had the goodness to send her. She is yet too young 
to read it herself, but I trust that she will be spared to be able 



570 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

hereafter to peruse it. In the mean time her excellent mother 
will make her familiar with its contents. 

Relieved as I am now from the cares, the troubles and the 
responsibilities of public life, I hope to profit by retirement in 
making those preparations for another and better world which 
are enjoined upon us by our highest and eternal interests. In 
these, your example of perfect submission and complete obedience 
will be constantly remembered by me, with great benefit and ad- 
vantage. Instead of condoling with me, as some of my friends 
have, on account of my failure to obtain the nomination at the 
late Philadelphia Convention, their congratulations on the event 
would have been more seasonable and appropriate. 

I request you to present my respectful regards to your broth- 
ers and their families ; and accept for yourself my prayers that 
He who has enabled you so calmly and cheerfully to bear up 
under the heavy privations which you suffer, may continue His 
watchful care over you to the end, and that we may both here- 
after meet in the regions of eternal bliss. 



GENERAL SCOTT TO MR. CLAY. 

ElizaeethtoyvTs N. J., July 19, 1848. 
My dear Mr. Clay, — I have been most unfortunate in respect 
to your very kind note to me of May 30, addressed to this place. 
It followed me to Frederick, Md., then to Washington, a second 
time to Frederick, thence to Leonardstown (our friend John 
Lee's post-office), and after lying there long after I had left ! 
hospitable mansion, it has finally just overtaken me her./, via 

Washington. 

It is now sixty days since I landed on the Jersey shore, with 
a Mexican disease upon me, and although obliged to travel and 
to engage in the most vexatious and disgusting work, I have not 

id the strength to walk three hundred yards at once in the 
whole time. I am still very feeble, and go to-morrow to the 
sea shore to gain vigor to meet the same court (nearly) in my 
own case, at the beginning of the next month. 

I left Mexico in the comfortable belief that the choice of a 
Whig candidate for the Presidency had been narrowed down to 
two names, yours and that of General Taylor, and tl you 



OP HENRY CLAV. • 571 

would be the nominee. The day after I landed a distinguished 
puhlic man from a wing of the Capitol, a friend of yours, passing 
by got out of the train to see me. I stated my impr< ssions and 
wishes to him, and was astonished to hear him say that your 
friends in Congress, with four exceptions — Berrien and Bolls, 
but no Kentuckians, were two of them — had given you u] i a 
some calculation of a want of availability ! I promptly said, if 
I could be flattered into the belief that my name on the same 
ticket (below yours) would add the vote of a single State, I 
might be considered as at the service of the party, and author- 
ized him to say so on his return to Washington, notwithstanding 
my reluctance to change my army commission, etc. In a day or 
two I went to Washington, visited Frederick and returned, but I 
was confined to a sick bed, and, although I saw many political 
men, I was not in a condition to converse or to exercise the 
slightest influence. I believe the impression was quite general 
that I was not likely to recover. At the end of a week, how- 
ever, I got back, with difficulty, to Frederick, and there the 
nomination of General Taylor reached me. 

If he shall frankly accept the nomination as a Whig, with a 
pledge to administer the Government on the principles of the 
party, I shall fervently pray for his success. If not, I shall at 
least be indifferent. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES IIARLAN. 

Asuxand, August 5, IS 18. 

My dear Sir, — I received, at the Estell Springs (from which 
I returned yesterday), your favor transmitting a sketch of Mr. 
Mr. 's speech at Versailles, for which I thank you. 

How derogatory is it for politicians to attempt to ridicule and 
degrade themselves in the presence of General Taylor ! And 
how inconsistent is it to denounce party in the same breath in 
which ll;e Whig parly is called on to support the General as a 
Whi that is, a party man ! It is mortifying to behold that once 
grea uding from its lofty position of ] iple, known, 

avo> '.aimed principle, and lending itself to tl 

tion of a mere personal party, with a virtual abandonment of iis 
old prii 

I have a letter from General Scott in which he states that he 



572 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

authorized, on his landing from Mexico, a distinguished gentle- 
man from Washington, to say that he was willing to run as a 
candidate for the Vice Presidency on the ticket with me. 



MR. CLAY TO NICHOLAS DEAN. 

Ashland, August 24, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received, and perused with lively inte- 
rest and gratitude, your friendly letter of the 27th ultimo. 

The Whig party presents an anomalous condition. Without 
any candidate who recognizes his obligation to conform to their 
principles, the members of it are called upon as a party to sup- 
port the no-party candidate ; and I have been urgently and re- 
peatedly appealed to, to indorse as a Whig General Taylor, who, 
while he adopts the name in a modified form, repudiates the 
principles of the party ! I need not say, that I have done, 
and shall do, no such thing. Self-respect, consistency with de- 
liberate opinions long ago formed, and my sense of public duty, 
will restrain me from taking any prominent or active part in the 
canvass. Whatever I may do, I will not expose myself to any 
reproaches from those — if there be any such — who might be 
misled by my opinion. I have submitted quietly to the deci- 
sion of the Convention, and beyond that I feel under no obliga- 
tions. 

I consider my public career as forever terminated, and I am 
most anxious to preserve untarnished that character, around 
which so many warm-hearted friends have done me the honor 
to rally. I should, I think, justly incur their censure if, after all 
that I have thought and said (confirmed as my convictions are 
by observation) against the elevation of mere military men to 
the Presidency, could I come out in the active support of the 
most exclusively military candidate ever presented to the Ameri- 
can people ; one, too, who has forced himself upon the Conven- 
tion, or been forced upon it. One who declared that he would 
stand as an independent candidate against me, or any other 
Whig that might be nominated — a declaration made under his 
own hand, ami which remains uncontradicted by any thing 
under his own hand, which the public has been permitted to 
see. 

I do not mean to intimate what may be my final vote, given 



OF HENRY CLAY. 573 

quietly at the polls, if I vote at all; thai will depend upon a 
view of all existing circumstances at the time ; but neither now 
nor then do I desire to influence any body else. 

There is nothing in the contest to arouse my patriotism, or to 

animate my zeal. I regard the attempt to elect General Tayloi 
as one to create a mere personal party. How snch a party may 
work, I can not foresee ; possibly better than that of either of 
his competitors; but this possibility is not sufficient to <xeite 
any warmth or enthusiasm with me. General Taylor has, I 
think, exhibited much instability and vacillation. He will in- 
evitably fall into the hands of others, who will control his Ad- 
ministration. I know not who they will be, but judging from 
my experience of poor, weak human nature, they will be most 
likely those who will have favored and flattered the most. 

Standing proud and erect in the consciousness of having 
faithfully fulfilled all my public duties, and supported and 
cheered by numberless intelligent and warm-hearted friends in 
all parts of the country, I accpiiesce in the retirement in which I 
expect to pass the remnant of my life. Some of those friends 
may censure me for the inaction which I have prescribed to my- 
self during the present canvass; but if they do, I appeal to 
their " sober second thoughts," or to the impartial tribunal of 
posterity. I am, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO HENRY WHITE. 

Ashland, September 10, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — I received your friendly letter, and beg you 
to be perfectly assured of my undiminished regard and esteem. 

Although I believe that the Philadelphia Convention has 
placed the Whig party in a humiliating condition — one which, I 
fear, will impair its usefulness, if not destroy its existence — I 
acquiesced in its decision in not nominating me, and have sub- 
mitted quietly to it. I have done nothing to oppose its nomina- 
tion. 1 have given no countenance to any movements having 
for their object any further use of my name, in connection with 
the office of President. Beyond this I can not go. Self-respect 
ana 1 consistency with deliberate opinions long since formed and 
repeatedly avowed, against the elevation to that office of a mere 
military man, must restrain me from taking any active part in 



574 PRIVATE COEEESPOXDEXCE 

the canvass. I wish to leave every body freely to act for them- 
selves, without influence from me, if I could exert any. If I 
were to recommend the support of General Taylor, and if he 
should be elected on it afterward, and in his Administration dis- 
appoint the Whigs, I should feel myself liable to reproaches. 

I regret, therefore, that I can not comply with your request to 
make a public declaration of my intention to support General 
Taylor. Without compromising any one, I shall go to the polls 
when the day arrives, and give such a vote as I think may be 
most likely to be least injurious to the country. 

With my warm regards to Mrs. White and your family, I 
am your friend. 



ME. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMAN. 

Ashland, September 10, 1S48. 

~My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 9th instant, in- 
forming me of the movement of some of my friends in New 
York to bring out my name as a candidate for the Presidency. 

I feel under the greatest obligations and the warmest gratitude 
to them, for the sentiments of attachment, confidence, and 
friendship which they do me the honor to entertain. And to 
you, in particular, I owe an expression of my cordial thanks for 
your long, ardent, and ever faithful attachment to me. 

But, my dear sir, after the decision of the Philadelphia Con- 
vention against my nomination, I have felt bound quietly to 
submit. I could not, therefore, accept a nomination, if it were 
tendered to me, nor do I wish any further use of my name in 
connection with the office of President. 

I never would have consented to the submission of my name 
to that Convention, but under a conviction that I should have 
been elected if nominated. I firmly believe now that such 
would have been the result. 

The Convention chose to nominate another, and I have ever 
since avoided giving the slightest countenance or encouragement 
to any further efforts on my behalf. 

To bring me into the canvass now, would, I think, only have 
the effect of adding to existing embarrassments, and perhaps of 
throwing the election into the House of Pteprescntativcs, at a 
lime when parties are most exasperated against each other. 
Sucli an issue of the contest is to be deprecated. 



OF IIENRY CLAY. 575 

1 am glad to hear that yon have finally established yours If 
in your pn n in New York. I request you to accept my 

cordial wishes for your success, happiness, and prosperity. 



BIR. CLAY TO JAMES LYNCH AND OTITF.H^. 

Gentl . . — I have received your official letter as members 
of the (Whig) Democratic General Committee of the city and 
county of New York, and I take pleasure in answering it. 

Never from the period of decision of the Philadelphia Con- 
vention against my nomination as a candidate for the Presidency, 
have I been willing, nor am I now, to have my name associated 
with that office. I would not accept a nomination if it were ten- 
dered to me, and it is my unaffected desire that no further use be 

de of my name in connection with that office. I have seen, 
' refore, with regret, movements in various quarters having for 
their object to present me as their candidate to the American 
people : these movements have been made without any approba- 
tion from me. In the present complicated state of the Presiden- 

1 election they can not, in my opinion, be attended with any 
I ublic good,and may lead to the increase of embarrassments, and 
to the exasperation of parties. 

hile I say this much without reserve, I must nevertheless 

1 that I feel profound gratitude to such of my warm-hearted 
and faithful friends as continue to indulge the vain hope of plac- 

; me in the office of Chief Magistrate of the United States. 

\ d that I neither think it just or politic to stigmatize them as 

:' itionists or by any other opprobrious epithets. Among them I 

recognize names which have been long distinguished for ability, 

f< r devc tion to the Whig cause, and for ardent patriotism. 

You advert with entire truth to the zeal and fidelity with 
which the delegation from New York sought in the Phil hia 

Convention to promote my nomination as a candidate for the 
Presidency. I am most thankful to them and shall ever recollect 
their exertions with profound gratitude. 

And here, gentlemen, I would stop but for your rescpie^t that I 
would communicate my views ; this I shall do briefly and frankly, 
but with reluctance and regre't. 

Concurring entirely with you, that the peace, prosperity and 



576 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

happiness of the United States depend materially on the preserv- 
ation of Whig principles, I should be most happy if I saw more 
clearly than I do that they are likely to prevail. 

But I can not help thinking that the Philadelphia Convention 
humiliated itself, and as far as it could, placed the Whig party 
in a degraded condition. General Taylor refused to be its can- 
didate. He professed indeed to be a Whig, but he so enveloped 
himself in the drapery of qualifications and conditions that it is 
extremely difficult to discover his real politics. He was and yet 
is willing to receive any and every nomination no matter from 
what quarter it might proceed. In his letter to the " Richmond 
11 cpublican" of the 20th April last, he declared his purpose to re- 
main a candidate, no matter what nomination might be made by 
the Whig Convention. I know what was said and done by the 
Louisiana delegation in the Convention, but there is a vail about 
that matter which I have not penetrated. The letter from him 
which it was stated one of that delegation possessed, has never 
been published, and a letter on the same subject addressed to the 
independent party of Maryland, has at his instance been with- 
held from the public. It was quite natural that after receiving 
the nomination he should approve the means by which he ob- 
tained it. What I should be glad to see is some revocation of the 
declaration in the " Richmond Republican" letter before the 
nomination was made. 

On the great leading national measures which have so long di- 
vided parties, if he has any fixed opinions, they are not publicly 
known. Exclusively a military man, without the least experi- 
ence in civil affairs, bred up and always living in the camp with 
his sword by his side, and his epaulets on his shoulders, it is 
proposed to transfer him from his actual position of second in 
command of the army, to the Chief Magistrate of this great model 
Republic. 

If I can not come out in active support of such a candidate, I 
hope those who know any thing of my opinions, deliberately 
formed and repeatedly avowed, will excuse me; to those opinions 
I shall adhere with increased instead of diminished confidence. 
I shall think that my friends ought to be reconciled to the silence 
1 have imposed on myself from deference to them as well as 
from strong objections which I entertain to the competitor of 
General Taylor. I wish to lead or mislead no one, but to leave 
all to the unbiased dictates of their own judgment. 



OF HF.NKY CLAY. 677 

I know and feci all that can be urged in the actual position of 
the present contest. 

I entertain with you the strongest apprehension from the el 
tion of General Cass, but I do not see enough of 1 and con- 
fidence in that of General Taylor to stimulate ray exertions and 
animate my zeal. I de< ply fi ar that his success may lead to the 
formation of a mere personal party. There is a chance ind i 
that he may give the country a better administration of the 
ecntive Government than- his competitor would, but it is not such 
a chance as can arouse my enthusiasm or induce me to assume 
the responsibility of recommending any course or offering any 
advice to others. 

I have great pleasure in bearing my humble testimony in fa- 
vor of Mr. Fillmore. I believe him to be able, indefatigable, in- 
dustrious and patriotic. He served in the extra session of 1841 
as Chairman of the committees of the two houses of Congress, 
and I had many opportunities of witnessing his rare merits. 

I do not desire the publication of this letter, but if you deem 
it necessary, you may publish the four first and the last para- 
graphs. 



SUSAN ALLIBONE TO MS. CLAY. 

H mu.tox, near Philadelphia, November 6, 1 

I denied myself the gratification of giving an immediate reply 
to your kind and most welcome letter, respected sir, becau I 
was aware that the communications of your numerous friends 
present an almost incessant demand upon your attention : but I 
did not design to be so very considerate as to have allowed more 
than three months to pass away unaccompanied by an assurance 
of my warm affection. 

The debility which often renders me unable to use a mechani- 
cal medium for the conveyance of thought, d< es not deprive me 
of the consolation of <■:•. ug my regard for those I love by 

imploring for them "the blessing of the Lord,"' which "maketh 
rich and addeth no sorrow with it ;" and for you. dear sir. \ 
frequent and earnest prayers have come into my heart. I i\o 
hope God will grant you a double portion of His spirit. I should 
not feel satisfied if any ordinary measure of contrition, faith, 
love, and holy obedience were yours. We are commanded to 
" covet the best gifts ;" and it is not presumptuous to expect much 

37 



578 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

from God, if the merits of our Redeemer be our only plea. Nor 
would I forget to thank Him for the spiritual illumination He 
has granted you, nor for the desire you express to consecrate the 
retirement you are at last permitted to enjoy, to the interests of 
"another and a better world." It is indeed a better world, dear 
Mr. Clay. How delightful will it be to be released forever from 
"every day's support of wrong and outrage, with which earth is 
filled !" What blessedness to worship God without the intrusion 
of one emotion opposed to the holiness of His law, or a single 
wandering thought, and to satisfy the longings of the spirit after 
knowledge, excellence and love, by the eternal contemplation of 
Him who is the concentration of them all. To receive all this 
happiness as the free gift of a Saviour's love, and to attune a 
harp of thanksgiving with heaven-taught melody, ever swelling 
louder and clearer notes of adoration as the past and present be- 
come more fully understood, and the future hastens on with 
brightening glory. Oh ! this will be to us a better world. 

It has often occurred to me that- while the believer rejoices 
that "to die is gain," he ought also to remember that "to live is 
Christ." I wish to understand the full meaning of this expres- 
sion. Experience has taught me something of its import, but I 
hope to learn new lessons every clay. One of our homilies tells 
us "faith is the hand that puts on Christ," and St. Paul assures 
us •' of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God, is made unto us 
wisdom, and righteousness, and sane tification, and redemption." 

How can I, who am so sinful and so suffering, be sufficiently 
thankful that this glorious Redeemer is the portion of my soul ? 
Mine has been a situation of extraordinary necessity, and the 
fullness of Jesus has been its supply. When my earthly friends 
sit down and weep because their unwearied attentions can not 
remove the firm pressure of disease, my Saviour draws mc still 
more closely into the sanctuary of His presence, and my wearied 
spirit reposes there in peace. But there is an amputation of the 
heart, caused by the removal of the most cherished objects of 
affection, which requires the still more tender offices of Him who 
" came to give the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heaviness ;" and in this sorrow also I 
have been greatly comforted. If I had never known bereave- 
ment I could not so fully sympathize with the deep afflictions to 
which your letter alludes. I am well assured that your suscepti- 
bilities of suffering are unusually acute, and I pray that the eon- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 579 

solations of the Holy Spirit, and the sanctified uses of adversity- 
may be given you in proportionate measure. It may be, also, 
that the dispensations which have cai I (painful avoid in 
your family circle may be the avenues through which many 
heavenly blessings may be conveyed to its surviving members. 
It may be your delightful privilege to teach them to consecrate 
i\,c ( n< rgy they have inherit' d t their earthly parent to the 

glory of their Father in Heaven ; and while I condole with my 
country because she will be deprived of your official services at 
a time when they seem so greatly needed, I do indeed most 
heartilj congratulate your children and grandchildren that they 
arc permitted to surround you in the evening of your days. 

Permit me to say that I do not think you suit the times, dear 
sir. Expediency has become the watchword of our nation, and 
your political vestments have never assumed a chameleon hue, 
nor has the cloak of concealment been wrapped around them. 
Oh ! that we had many Daniel's to confess that " we, and our 
father's have sinned and done wickedly," and to implore that 
national judgments may be averted. 

The beautiful petition of the Lord's Prayer, " Thy kingdom 
come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven," is most 
appropriate at this time of danger, and how effectually will its 
fulfillment hush into silence the stormy elements around us ! Is 
it not an unspeakable privilege to be the subject of a kingdom 
which can not be moved ? 

I am truly gratified to learn that the health of your little 
granddaughter has so greatly improved, for I feel a deep interest 
in all to whom you are allied. I shall not soon forget the terms 
of affection with which you made me accuiaiuted with the char- 
acter of Mrs. Clay, to whom you will [-lease present my respect- 
ful regards. 

I think I will be so selfish as to tell you how delighted I 
should be to receive another letter from Ashland. 

My sister, Mrs. Allibone, is my copyist to-day, as I am still un- 
able to attempt a greater effort than the pencilship of a letter. 
From her, with my brother, and other sisters, you will accept 
a message of warm affection, accompanied with u:y earnest 
prayers that you may ever be enabled to appropriate tbe ass - 
ance. " The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are tho 
everlasting arms." Believe me, my beloved Mr. Clay, most sin- 
cerely and respectfully yours. 



580 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



GENERAL TAYLOR TO MR. CLAY. 

Baton Rouge, La., November 17, 1848. 

My dear Sir, — On my return here a day or two since, after a 
short absence, I found your highly esteemed letter of the 23d 
ultimo, for which accept my most cordial thanks. The one re- 
ferred to, written by you in May last, reached me by due course 
of mail, and I owe you an apology for not replying to it, which 
I deferred doing from day to day, under the expectation that 
certain events would occur which I wished to refer to in my 
reply, but which were so long in taking place as to induce me 
to give up doing so altogether. Said letter was entirely satis- 
factory, as regarded the matter alluded to (and to put an end to 
the misrepresentations growing out of the same, going the 
rounds through various newspapers, I at once caused a short 
article to that effect to be published in " The Picayune" of New 
Orleans, which may have met your eye), and relieved me from 
great anxiety, as I believed the course then pursuing by certain 
individuals touching our correspondence, was calculated, if not 
intended, to bring about a state of distrust, if not unkind feel- 
ings, between you and myself, as well as some of our friends ; 
which, had they succeeded in doing, would, so far as I am con- 
cerned, been a source of much pain and mortification to me. 

There certainly could be no objection or impropriety in your 
permitting your friends to read any of the letters I wrote you, 
who ought not to have made any use of them, for any purpose, 
without your authority, as there w^as an implied confidence at 
least, which ought not to have been violated. It is true, I al- 
lowed a few and very confidential friends to read yours to me, 
nor am I aware that any use was made of them, directly or in- 
directly, for any purpose whatever ; nor was any copy taken of 
any one of them, and furnished to a member of Congress, or 
any one else, although I have no doubt you have been informed 
I had done so. 

* ***** * * 

* * ***** 



OF HENBY CLAY. 581 

I trust I have many devoted persona] friends, who, from vari- 
ous causes, were opposed to my reaching the office in question, 
and took every honorable and proper means in their power, and 
no other, to prevent my success, and I certainly would never 
think of censuring them, much | ermit it on my part to 

interrupt our friendly relations, because they have done what 
they thought right in opposing my election to an office which 
they thought another was better qualified to fill. 

I beg leave to return you many thanks for your kind invita- 
tion to visit Ashland, should I go to Kentucky before you leave 
for the South ; which it would have afforded me much pleasure 
to have done, and passed a few days under your hospitable roof ; 
but I must forego this pleasure, as it will be out of my power to 
leave Louisiana or Mississippi for several months, at any rate 
during the present year ; but should you carry out your inten- 
tions of visiting the South, as contemplated, and should pass the 
month of January in New Orleans, I will try and take you by 
the hand at that time, or during the same month. 

Wishing you many years of health, happiness, and prosperity, 
I remain, etc. 



J. T. HART TO MB. CLAY. 

Lexington, December 4, 1848. 

Dear Sir, — I hope you will accept this head I send you, 
which I have finished entirely with my own hands ; and also 
another, which I will finish in a day or two, as a small token of 
the gratitude and obligation I feel toward yourself and family, 
who have extended to me so much kindness. 

I will call out to see you this evening or to-morrow. With 
my earnest wishes for your recovery, I am, etc. 



582 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, January 2, 1S49. 
My dear Son, — I received your letter of the 27th November, 
and I was happy to hear of the continued health of Susan and 
your children, and especially that she had so easy an accouche- 
ment. That was the result of her previous exercise and the cli- 
mate of Lisbon. 

I am sorry to hear of the bad prospect of your getting our 
claims satisfied. I wrote you a few days ago, giving a long ac- 
count of an interview which I had with the Portuguese minis- 
ter, etc., about the case of the General Armstrong. In the course 
of it, he told me that he thought some of our claims were just, 
and so did the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that they would 
be paid. If we are to come to any appeal to force, perhaps it 
will be as well that they should reject them all, those which are 
clearly just as well as those which are contestable. But, as it 
would be a feather in your cap. I should like that you would 
get them all owned, or as many as you can. 

The minister told me that the owners of the General Arm- 
strong demanded $250,000. That sum strikes me to be erro- 
neous. If they agree to admit the claim, you might stipulate to 
have the amount fixed by seme commission ; or, which would 
be better, if the owners have an agent at Lisbon, you might get 
him to fix the very lowest sum which they would be willing to 
receive, which might not exceed one fifth of the sum de- 
manded. 

I mentioned confidentially to Sir H. Bulwer, the British min- 
ister, my apprehensions of a difficulty with Portugal, and he 
said he would write to Lord Palmerston, and suggest to him to 
interpose his good offices, etc. He told me that a brother of 
Lord Morpeth was the British Charge at Portugal. If he resem- 
bles his brother, you will find him a clever fellow. 

No certain developments arc yet made of what Congress may 
do on the subject of slavery. I think there is a considerable 
majority in the House, and probably one in the Senate, in favor 
of the Wilmot proviso. I have been thinking much of propos- 
ing some com] i '■ We scheme of settling amicably the whole 
question, in all its bearings; but I have not yet positively de- 
termined to do so. Meantime some of the Hotspurs of the 
South arc openly declaring themselves for a dissolution of the 



OF HENRY CLAY. 583 

Union, if the Wilmot proviso be adopted. This sentiment of 
disunion is more extensive than I had hoped, but I do not regard 
it as yet alarming. It does not 1. ch many of the Slave 
States. 

You complain of not hearing from Kentucky. I have the 
same complaint. I have not received a letter from John for a 
long time. My last was from Thomas, of the 18lh ult. They 
wore then all well. 

I am glad to hear that Henry is placed at school, but am sorry 
that his defects continue to display themselves. We must hope 
that he will correct them as he grows older, and in the mean 
time console ourselves that his faults are not worse than they 
are. 

My love to Susan, the boys, and your children. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

New Orleans, January 20, 1849. 

My dear Sir, — I met with an accidental but violent fall a 
week ago, in carelessly descending a flight of stairs, to receive a 
gentleman who bore me a letter of introduction, and I got terri- 
bly bruised. I broke no bones, but it disabled me, for the pres- 
ent, from walking without assistance, and almost from writing. 

I received yesterday your favor of the 12th, and to-day that 
of the 14th. I regret extremely that the use of my name, in 
connection with the office of Senator, should have created any 
division among the Whigs, or excited any dissatisfaction with 
any one. God knows that I have no personal desire to return 
to that body, nor any private or ambitious purposes to promote 
by resuming a seat in it. I expressed to you and to other 
friends, at the period of my departure from home, the exact 
state of my feelings, when I declared that I could not reconcile 
it to my feelings to become a formal or an avowed candidate ; 
and that if the General Assembly had any oilier person in view, 
I did not wish to interfere with him. I added that, if, neverthe- 
less, the Legislature thou hi , . per to require my services in the 
... . ace to their will, a sense of public duty, and the 

hope of doing some good, would prompt me to accept the 
office. 

These views are unchanged. According to them, it follows 



584 PEIVATE COREESPON/DEXCE 

that I have no desire to have my name pressed upon the General 
Assembly, and I hope that it will not be presented, unless it is 
manifestly the free and voluntary wish of a majority of that 
body. It would be a great mortification to me to be thought to 
be solicitous for that office, and to be supposed to be seeking it 
from the reluctant grant of the Legislature. I hope that my 
friends will act in consonance with the state of my feelings, 
and not suffer my name to be used but on the conditions 
which I have stated. 



MR. CLAY TO THOMAS B. STEVENSON. 

Nkw Orleans, January 31, 1849. 

My dear Sir, — The breaking out of the cholera here prevented 
my meeting General Taylor in this city, as had been expected. 
I met him at Baton Rouge, but only long enough to exchange 
friendly salutations, without any opportunity to converse on 
public affairs. 

About a fortnight ago I met with a terrible accidental fall, 
which, although fortunately I broke no bones, has for the pres- 
ent confiued me to my lodgings, disabled me from walking, and 
almost from writing. To that cause is owing my not having 
earlier acknowledged the receipt of your friendly letter of the 
25th ultimo. 

I suppose that I shall be elected to the Senate by the General 
Assembly of Kentucky, in which case I shall hardly feel my- 
self at liberty to decline, conferred as the office will be without 
any solicitation from me, without my being a candidate, and 
with the knowledge of a strong disinclination on my part to re- 
turn to that body. Deference to the will of the General Assem- 
bly, a sense of duty, and the possibility of my being able to do 
some good, overcome my repugnance. If I go to Washington, 
it will be with an anxious desire that I shall be able to support 
the measures of the new Administration, in consequence of their 
conformity with Whig policy. 

There seems to be yet some slight prospect of a settlement at 
Washington of the Free Soil question; but we shall see. 

The cholera has nearly entirely disappeared from this city. 



OF IIENTIY CLAY. 585 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SOX JAMES. 

i IftHEAHS, Mar. h 8, 1 

My dear Son, — I was glad to hea 1 your letter of the 18lh 
ultimo that you had returned from Missouri. Your journey 

. t have been a dreadful one, hut you will find some eompen- 
sation for it in the profits which you expect to realize. 

My health is hotter, and I can again walk. I hope to reach 
home toward the last of this month. The weather is now fine 
here, and I am desirous not to return until the winter hreaks. 

I have heard that Colonel Allen has discontinued his school, 
hut I have not heard whether Henry is admitted at West Point. 
I declined going to Washington at the Call Session. 

As you were absent, I sent to Richard Pendell a letter on the 
Emancipation question. As I regret to hear that it is not popu- 
lar, I suppose that my letter will bring on me some odium. I 
nevertheless wish it published. I owe that to the cause, and to 
myself, and to posterity. 

I am delighted to hear that dear little Lucy is better. You 
are perfectly right to take her to the sea-bath, if it be recom- 
mended ; but ought you not to think of the Arkansas Springs? 

My lo\ r e to Susan and your children. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL COMBS. 

>"ew Orleans, March V, 1849. 

My dear Sir, — I received your last letter, transmitting one 
which is returned. Many thanks arc due to you for various 
communications received during the past winter, and which af- 
forded me much valuable information. I should have before ac- 
knowledged them, but for the consequences of my fall, which 
for a time disabled me from both walking and writing. 

The project of assuming the debt of Texas on the considera- 
tion of her relinquishment of her territorial claim beyond the 
Nueces, is worthy of serious examination. The difficulty in the 
way will be the Free Soil question. 

I am most anxious that you should obtain some good appoint- 
ment under the present Administration. You, T think, eminently 
deserve it. Whether I can aid you or not, I can not at present 
say. My relations to the President, on my part, and, as far as I 



586 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

know, on his, are amicable ; but I have had no proof of any 
desire to confer or consult with me on any subject. Some of 
his warm and confidential friends, I have reason to know, view 
me with jealousy, if not enmity. While self-respect will restrain 
me from volunteering any opinion or advice, unless I know it 
will be acceptable, public duty will ecmally restrain me from of- 
: ,g any opposition to the course of his Administration, if, as 
I hope and anticipate, it should be conducted on principles which 
we have so long cherished and adhered to. 

I hope to reach home, and to see you in all this month, when 
there will be time enough to talk over all these and other 
matters. 

I did not go to the Call Session, because, supposing that it 
would be short and formal, and without any serious division, I 
disliked encountering, in my lame condition, a journey so long 
in the winter. I am, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

New Okleaks, March 13, 1849. 

Mr dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 3d instant. I 
concluded not to attend the Call Session, which I could not 
have done without much personal discomfort. 

The Cabinet of General Taylor was not, it seems, exactly as 
you supposed. Some of the appointments excited surprise. I 
think that he might have made one of greater strength. I am 
truly concerned that Letcher was overlooked. I had strong 
hopes that he would have been appointed, and I thought I had 
reason for them. 

I think it quite likely that you may be right in supposing that 
neither I nor my friends will find much favor at Court. As to 
myself, having given no just cause for its frowns, I can bear 
them without difficulty ; but the President will be unwise if he 
neglects cr proscribes my friends. Without them, he never 
could have been elected. 

While I have no desire to go into the Convention, I shall 
make no decision until my return. I leave this city on the 17th 
instant, and stopping on the river at one or two places, I hope to 
reach home about the last of the month. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 587 



MB. CLAY TO RODNEY DENNIS. 

land, April 15, 1849. 

Dear Sir, — Your favor of the 27th ultimo, addressed to me 
at New Orleans, followed mid found me here. 

I am very grateful and thankful for the friendly sentiments 
toward me which your partiality has \>, 1 you to express. 

You do me too much honor in instituting any comparison be- 
tween me and the renowned men of antiquity. I am in one 
respect better oil than Moses. He died in sight of, without 
reaching, the promised land. I occupy as good a farm as any 
that he would have found, if he had reached it ; and it has been 
acquired, not by hereditary descent, but by my own labor. 

As to public honors and public offices, I have perhaps had 
more than my share of them. At all events I am contented, and 
now seek for better, if not higher offices and honors, in a better 
world. That we may both meet there, if we never do here, is 
the sincere prayer of your friend and obedient servant. 



MR. CLAY TO NICHOLAS DEAN. 

Ashland, June 21, 1S49. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favors of the 1st and 4th in- 
stant. I regret extremely that many of the appointments of the 
Executive are so unsatisfactory to the public ; and still more that 
there should lie just occasion for it. I fear that the Prcsi 
confides that matter too much to the Secretaries, and that they 
have selfish and ulterior views in the selections which they make. 
It is undeniable that the public patronage has been too exclu- 
sively confined to the original supporters of General Taylor, with- 
out sufficient regard to the merits and just claims of the great 
body of the Whig party. This is both wrong and impolitic. 

You tell me that it will be difficult to repress an expression of 
Whig dissatisfaction, prior to the meeting of Congress. I 
should be very sorry if this was done so early, if it should 
come necessary (I hope it may not) to do it at all. I think there 
ought not to be any denunciation of the Administration, unless 
it is rendered proper for its plans of public policy. If bi 
these arc developed, the Administration should be arraigned, it 



588 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

would be ascribed to disappointment as to the distribution of the 
patronage of Government. It will be different, if, contrary to 
what we have a right to hope and expect, the Administration 
should fail to support and recommend the great measures of the 
"Whig party. 

As to myself, I need not say to you, that I shall go to Wash- 
ington, if I am spared, with a firm determination to oppose or 
support measures according to my deliberate sense of their effects 
upon the interests of our country. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

AsnLA^D, October 2, 1849. 

My dear James, — I returned home this day fortnight, in im- 
proved health, which, with the exception of my cough, contin- 
ues good. Levi again left me at Buffalo, and has again returned 
to Louisville, on his way home, having reported himself there 
to Mr. Smith. 

I received your letter dated at sea, after you had been two 
days out, and I was sorry to learn that there was so much sea- 
sickness in your party. I calculated that you arrived at Liver- 
pool about the time I got home. I found all well here. 

Colonel Brand died with cholera about four weeks ago. John- 
son, the saddler, has purchased at private sale the whole of Mr. 
Hunt's land, of upward of eleven hundred acres, at sixty dol- 
lars per acre. I think it would have commanded more at public 
auction, land being on the rise. 

You will have seen that Secretary Clayton has got into a 
difficulty with the French minister. I am sorry for it, and I 
think that with judgment and discretion it might have been 
avoided. But your course should be to defend the act of the 
Executive, if you can conscientiously ; and if not to remain si- 
lent. The papers will also inform you that the Secretary has also 
a difficulty with the British Charge about the Mosquito Coast. I 
hope it is not so serious as to threaten war. 

My crops of hemp and corn are uncommonly fine, and the 
influx of gold from California, and the general prosperity oC the 
country are giving an upward tendency to prices. Hemp, I fear, 
will, however, be an exception next year, owing to its abund- 
ance. 



OF HENBY CLAY. 589 

I suppose you will hear from Louisville. I have heard noth- 
ing to the contrary, ami therefore pi nine all are well th< 

I inclose a ticket which I receivi d for you inclosed in a cir- 
cular, similar to one addressed to me, h< >m the American Insti- 
tute, i. 

Our love to Susan, and kiss dear Lucy and the other children 
for me. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

Ajshland, October 4, 18-19. 

My dear Sir, — I saw in " The Commonwealth'' with sorrow 
and regretj the death announced of your son, my namesake. I 
tender to you, on the melancholy occasion, an expression of my 
sincere sympathy and condolence. I knew enough of him, from 
frequent interviews and conversations with him, to appreciate the 
great distress which the lamented event must have brought upon 
you and Mrs. Harlan and your other children. I have been, in 
my time, a great sufferer from the loss of beloved children, and 
I can fully estimate the grief which you now feel. 

Time, and a patient resignation and submission to the will of 
Him who, having given us our children, has the right to take 
them from us when He pleases, can only heal the wounds inflict- 
ed, and mitigate the sorrows which the bereavement necessarily 
excites. 

I hope that you and Mrs. Harlan will bear with fortitude, and 
in a true spirit of Christianity, this sad and heavy dispensation. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Ashlahs, October 15, 1849. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter dated at Liverpool the 
27th ultimo, and was very glad that you had all safely arrived, 
with so little inconvenience from sea-sickness. I hope that your 
excursion to Paris proved agreeable, and that you Mere not 
tempted by its many attractions to run into any extravagant ex- 
penditures. 

The elections in Ohio and Pennsylvania have gone against the 
Administration, and. judging from present prospects, I do not see 



590 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

how it is to be sustained. If, therefore, you do not come home 
sooner, you may prepare to return on the expiration of its term. 
I understand indirectly that it is counting much on my exertions 
at the approaching session of Congress ; but I fear that it is 
counting without any sufficient ground. I intend to leave home 
the first of November, but not to go to Washington until about 
the opening of Congress. I expect to pass two or three weeks 
in Philadelphia. 

I suppose that you and Susan hear regularly from Louisville, 
from which T have heard nothing cf any interest. Here we are 
all in health, and things move on in their ordinary channels. 
Yesterday (Sunday) Thomas and Mary dined with us as usual. 
He trees down in a few weeks to his famous saw mill, from 
which he calculates to make a great deal. 

We expect H. Hart and his family here to-morrow or next 
day to make their farewell visit, preparatory to their going to St. 
Louis, for which he has made most of his arrangements. 

Give our love to Susan and your children and to Henry Clay, 
and kiss dear Lucy for your affectionate father. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, December 4, 1849. 

My dear Sox, — I left home the first of last month, which 
throughout was a most delightful one, and, after passing two or 
three weeks in Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore, arrived 
here last Saturday, the 1st instant. My presence in those cities 
excited the usual enthusiasm among my friends, and the cus- 
tomary fatigue, etc., to myself; but I rejoice that my health is 
good, with the exception of a bad cold, which ] hope is passing 
off. I have not yet seen the President, although I called yester- 
day and left my card. I have seen Mr. Ewing, and other mem- 
bers of the Cabinet have left their cards. Up to this time there 
is no organization of the House, which is in a very curious state. 
Neither party has a majority, and divisions exist in each ; so that 
no one can foresee the final issue. The elections this year have 
gone very unfavorably to the Whigs, and without some favorable 
turn in public affairs in their favor, they must lose the ascend- 
ency. 

I received Susan's letter of the 19th October and yours of the 



OF HENBY CLAY. f>01 

5th November, and llio perusal of them afforded rac satisfaction. 
I observe what you say about Mr. 'I kins' kind treatment of 
you. H ' s gone home, but if I should ever • s him, I will 
manifest to him my n e of his friendly disposition toward you. 
I am acquainted with him : rmer member of the ITousc of 

resentatives. I shall seize some suitable occasion to examine 
your dispatches at the Department of State, and I am glad that 
you entertain confidence in your competency to discharge the 
duties of your official position. That is a very proper feeling, 
within legitimate bounds ; but it should not lead to any relaxa- 
tion of exertions to obtain all information within your reach, and 
to qualify yourself by all means in your power to fulfill all your 
official obligations. How do you get along without a knowledge 
of the French language ? Are you acquiring it ? 

I have heard from home frequently since I left it. John had 
taken a short hunt in the mountains, but returned without much 
success. Thomas had gone down the Ohio to sec about the 
saw mill, and is still there. All were well. Dr. Jacobs is now 
here from Louisville. His brother with his wife have gone to 
ouri, where he has purchased another farm. You have said 
nothing, nor did Susan, about Henry Clay or Thomas Jacobs. 

Give my love to Susan and all your children, and to the boys. 
I will write to her as soon as I am a little relieved from com- 
pany, etc. 

I hope you will adhere to your good resolution of living with- 
in your salary. From what you state about your large establish- 
ment, I am afraid that you will exceed that prudent limit. How 
did your predecessor in that particular? I believe he was not a 
man of any wealth. 



MR. CLAY TO MRS. JAMES B. CLAY. 

GTOX, December 15, 1849. 

My deab Susan, — I received and read with great pleasure 
your letter of the 19th of October. All its details of informa- 
tion were agreeable to me, and I hope you will continue to write 
to me and to communicate every thing, the minutest circum- 
stance concerning yourself or your dear family. I have taken 
apartments at the National Hotel (a parlor and bed-room adjoin- 



592 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ing), for the winter. I have an excellent valet, a freeman, and 
I am as comfortable as I can be. No advance has been yet made 
in Congress, in the public business, owing to the House, from 
its divid d condition, being yet unable to elect a Speaker. 
When that will be done is uncertain ; but I suppose from the 
absolute necessity of the case there will be, before long, one 
chosen. 

I have been treated with much consideration by the President 
and most of his Cabinet ; but I have had yet no very confiden- 
tial intercourse with the President. I dined with him this week, 
and I have been invited to dine with two members of the Cabi- 
net, but declined on account of a very bad cold. Mr. Clayton 
sent me James' diplomatic note to the Portuguese minister on 
the case of the General Armstrong, with the inclosed note from 
himself. James' note has been well spoken of by the Attorney- 
General to me. and I think it creditable. There are some cleri- 
cal inaccuracies in it, which ought to be avoided in future copies 
of his official notes. James might have added, in respect to the 
practice of impressment, that " the Portuguese Secretary, in vol- 
unteering a sanction of it, has extended the British claim, now 
become obsolete, beyond any limit to which it was ever asserted 
by Great Britain herself, she never having pretended that she 
could exercise the practice within the Territorial jurisdiction of 
a third or neutral power, or any where but on the high seas or 
in her own ports." 

I understood from Clayton that it was intended by the Presi- 
dent to submit to Congress the conduct of the Portuguese Gov- 
ernment, without recommending, at present, any measure of 
coercion. It is desirable to get the answer to James' note, a; 
soon as practicable, if one be returned. 

I have heard from Ashland as late as the 10th instant. All 
the whites were well : but there had been a number of cases 
of small-pox in Lexington, and one of our black men had 
caught it, but he was getting well. Think of your present en- 
joyment of a delightful climate and tropical fruits, when there 
!'• II at Lexington on the 10th instant, a snow six or eight inches 

P • 

Your brother, the Doctor, has returned to Louisville. You 

said nothing in your letter to me about Thomas, Henry Clay, 
or my dear Lucy, and your other children. Is Henry going to 
school and where ? 



OF HENRY CLAY. 593 

I believe I did not mention in my former letter to .Tames that 
Lucretia Erwin Iras determined to take the black vail. 

I sen.d herewith a letter from Mary Ann's husband. My love 
to James and to all the family. 



MR. CLAY TO LESLIE COMBS. 

■Washington, December 22, 1819. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 17th instant, and 
thank you for its details. It seems that I have lost my negro 
man by the small-pox. I hope the measures taken will arrest 
its progress. 

My object in writing you now is one of great importance, 
and I wish you to lead off m it. It will do the country good, 
and do you good. 

The feeling for disunion among some intemperate Southern 
politicians, is stronger than I hoped or supposed it could be. 
The masses generally, even at the South, arc, I believe, yet 
sound ; but they may become influenced and perverted. The 
best counter-action of that feeling is to be derived from popular 
expressions of public meetings of the people. Now, what 1 
should be glad to see, is such meetings held throughout Ken- 
tucky ; for, you must know, that the disunii nists count upon 
the co-operation of our patriotic State. Can't you get up a 
large powerful meeting of both parties, if p< ssible, at Lexing- 
ton, at Louisville, etc., to express, in strong language, their de- 
termination to stand by the Union ? I hope the Legislature, 
and the Convention also, if it has not adjourned, may do the 
same. If you remain silent and passive, there is danger that 
the bad feeling may yet reach you. Now is the time for salu- 
tary action, and you are the man to act. I inclose some resolu- 
tions, which, or some similar to them, I .should be happy to see 
adopted. 

Prudence and propriety will suggest to you, that too free a use 
of my name should not \>c made m getting up this movement. 
You well know the persons to consult with ; and I wish you 
would keep me advised of what you do. 

[This advice was acted on and carried out.] 

38 



594 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON THOMAS. 

Washington, December 25, 1849. 

My dear Thomas, — I received a letter from you while you 
were with Henry Wilkins, at your saw-mill, but none since. I 
expected to have heard of your return home, and to have gotten 
a letter from you, ere now ; but I suppose that you have been 
detained below longer than you expected. I shall be glad to 
hear from you, the prospects of your mill, etc. 

I am afraid that your mother and John have had much trouble 
and anxiety at Ashland. The loss of my man by the small-pox, 
and the fear of its spreading must have given them much unea- 
siness. It has become necessary to purchase or hire two addi- 
tional hands for the farm. I should prefer the latter, and I have 
so written to John. I wish you would give him all the assist- 
ance you can in procuring them. His mill, too, has got out of 
order ; but I hope that he has been able to get a millwright to 
repair. 

Give my love and the compliments of the season tp Mary and 
the children. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

Washington, December 28, 1849. 

My dear Wife, — There is a bundle of papers in my office up 
stairs, inclosed in a pasteboard paper, and tied up with tape, con- 
taining the letters from General Taylor to me. Among them is 
one from him to me, dated at Monterey, in Mexico, I think, in 
September, 1847. He and I differ about the contents of that 
letter ; and I wish you would find it, and get Thomas to make 
and send me a neat copy of it, and put up the original back again 
where you find it. 

I am still staying at the National Hotel, where I have a good 
parlor and bed-room, for which and my board I pay thirty dollars 
per week. The British Minister occupies rooms near mine, and 
I yesterday dined with him. He has his wife with him, a niece 
of the Duke of Wellington, a plain, but sensible person. 

I have dined with the President, but declined to dine with 
Clayton and R evenly Johnson, on account of a bad cold. These 



OF HKNIlY <'I.AY. 595 

people are all civil with me, 1 >m t nothing more. From every 
body, of both parlies, I receive friendly attentions and kind con- 
sideration. 

My love to John. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, December 29, 1849. 

My dear James, — I received your letter, communicating an 
account of Susan's confinement, and I was delighted to hear that 
she had given birth to a son, with so little of pain and suffering. 
I hope that she has continued to do well, and that the newcomer 
has also been hearty. In the fine climate where you are, I trust 
that all your family enjoy good health. 

I hear from home, but not as often as I could wish. 

After three weeks, Mr. Cobb, of Georgia, a Democrat, was 
elected Speaker, and it was so much more important that the 
House should be organized than that whether Whig or Democrat 
should be chosen, that I was glad an election was made. Noth- 
ing of importance has yet been done in Congress. 

The Portuguese Minister called on me to-day, and I had a 
long, long interview with him, both on matters personally relat- 
ing to you, and on public affairs, the latter, of course, confiden- 
tially. 

He tells me that you have a fine house and a delightful situa- 
tion on the Tagus, with a beautiful prospect, etc., but that they 
made you pay too much rent for it. 

I endeavored to impress him very seriously about our claims 
on Portugal, and that their rejection might lead to very grave 
consequences. 1 authorized him to communicate what I said to 
him to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He read to me a very 
ingenious and plausible argument in the case of the General 
Armstrong, but I told him that I thought it only ingenious and 
plausible, and that I thought the American claim was well 
founded. One of his points was that the General Armstrong 
began the conflict. To which I replied that the British boats 
approached the Armstrong in hostile array ; and that, when hailed, 
refusing to avow whether their purposes were amicable or hostile, 
the Armstrong was not bound to wait until they struck tin- first 
blow, but, being authorized to conclude that their purpose was 
to board and capture her, she had a right to defend herself, and 



596 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

anticipate the fall of the blow. Exactly as, when an assault is 
made on a man, not yet followed by a Lattery, he is not bound 
to await the battery, but may defend himself forthwith. 

As to the weakness of Portugal, since the treaty of Methuen, 
she has been an ally, and somewhat dependent on Great Britain. 
Her feelings and sympathies were with the British, and against 
the Armstrong. She not only did not protect the Armstrong, 
which as a neutral power she ought to have done, but she did 
nothing to repel the British violation.of her jurisdiction. She 
did worse ; when the crew of the Armstrong was brought on 
shore, she (Portugal) suffered and connived at their being mus- 
tered by, or in presence of, British officers, that they might select 
from the array those whom they chose to consider British sea- 
men ! Never was such an indignity before offered ! Never 
before or since did Great Britain ever attempt to exercise her 
pretended right of impressment within the jurisdictional limits 
of a neutral or third power, or any where but in her own ports, 
or on the high seas. 

The Portuguese Minister cited certain provisions of our treaty 
with Great Britain of 1794, and other treaties, making provision 
for the case of captures within the waters of the respective parties 
by a belligerent of either of them, etc. To all which I replied, 
that those treaties took the case from without the operation of 
the general public law, but did not affect the condition of powers 
(of which Portugal was one) having no such treaties with us ; 
that as to these powers, the national law furnished the rule ; and 
that, in cases like the Armstrong, that rule required cither pro- 
tection or indemnity. Protection had not been afforded, and 
indemnity was therefore justly due. 

My manner was intentionally very earnest ; and I sought to 
impress the Minister with the belief I entertain, that if satisfac- 
tion of our claims be withheld, it will be sought for by coer- 
cion. And I told him that I should be grieved if we had any- 
war with Portugal, especially when my son was the accredited 
representative of the United States at Lisbon. I told him that I 
hoped he would impress his Government with the gravity of 
existing circumstances. He was hurt at the reference in the 
President's Message to this affair; but I informed him that I had 
reason to believe that, at one time, it was contemplated to refer 
to it much more seriously, and I supposed this had not been done 
in consequence of a hope entertained that your dispatches might 



OF HENET CLAY. 597 

soon bring the welcome intelligence that our claims had teen 
admitted and provided for. 

lie spoke of a proposition before the Portuguese Cortes to 
elevate the grade of the mission to this country. I told him that 
the adjustment of our claims would be an agreeable, if not in- 
dispensable preliminary to a similar elevation of the rank of our 
Minister to Portugal, etc. 

I presume that they will send you, from the Department of 
State, the President's Message, and all other public documents. 

My love to Susan, to dear little Lucy, and all your children, 
and to H. Clay, and Thomas. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CORRESPONDENCE OF 1850, 1851, 1852. 

MB. CLAY TO HIS SON THOMAS. 

Washington, January 8, 1850. 

My dear Thomas, — I received your favor of the 2d instant, 
and I was glad to learn from it that you had placed your pecu- 
niary affairs on a satisfactory footing ; but I hope that you had 
not agreed to pay to Mr. Hart exorbitant interest. You tell me 
that, not wanting the check I sent you for $450, you handed it 
to R. Pindell to deposit the amount to my credit with the B. 
Bank. I wish you would see that it is done, and let me know 
the fact. 

I am greatly concerned about your poor mother. I am afraid 
that she has too much suffering and trouble for one person to 
bear. John promised me to do all in his power to promote her 
comfort and happiness. I wish you and Mary would do all in 
your power to lighten her burdens as much as possible. I do 
not think that I will leave her again another winter. 

I wrote yesterday to John to send our mules to Greensboro', in 
Georgia, where I have a prospect of a good sale of them. In- 
deed, I consider them all already engaged at fair prices. I wish 
you would assist him in getting them off. It would be well to 
have them washed. And I desire the person in whose charge 
they may be placed should inform me, from time to time, as he 
makes progress on the journey. 

I am very sorry that John has so much trouble in hiring slaves. 
You will, of course, continue to assist him ; and I hardly know 
what advice to give from this place. He and you must be the 
best judge*, being on the spot. If there be no better alternative, 
I suppose that I shall be obliged to purchase one or two young 
men, if good ones can be bought. 

Give my love to Mary and your children. 



PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY CLAY. 599 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SOX THOMAS. 

Washington, January 12, 1850. 

My dear Thomas, — I received a letter from you, inclosing a 
copy of a letter from General Taylor to me, dated at Monterey, 
in November, 1847. It was the copy 1 wanted. I was only 
mistaken as to its date. 

I also received the letter for Henry Clay, jun., and I have for- 
warded it to him. 

We have a Mayday to-day. 



MR. CLAY TO GENERAL COMBS. 

Washington, January 22, 1850. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 15th, and I pre- 
viously received other favors. I do not write often, because 
really I have nothing positive to communicate, and I have nei- 
ther time nor inclination to write merely speculative letters. 

Every thing here is uncertain — the Slavery question in all its 
bearings, California, New Mexico, Texas, etc. Of course, pro- 
vision for your debt, and all other debts of Texas, is among the 
uncertain things. 

My relation with the President and his Cabinet is amicable, 
but not remarkably confidential with them all. I have neither 
sought nor declined confidential intercourse. I do not go out at 
night, and in the day time both they and I are too much engaged 
to see much of each other. 

Are you not pushing subscriptions to railroads too far ? We 
want one to the Ohio river ; two would be better, and three 
better yet. But we ought not to go too fast. 

I am awaiting with anxiety for popular expressions in Ken- 
tucky in favor of the Union, let what come that may. Is there 
not danger from delay that the contagion of disunion may seize 
you ? 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

Washington, January 24, 18! 
My dear Sir, — If I have not written to you often, it is be- 
cause of my perpetual involuntary engagements, and because I 



600 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

have really nothing to write about of a practical nature, and I 
don't like indulging in speculation. Slavery here is the all-en- 
grossing theme ; and my hopes and my fears alternately prevail 
as to any satisfactory settlement of the vexed question. 1 hove 
been anxiously considering whether any comprehensive plan of 
adjustment can be devised and proposed to adjust satisfactorily 
the distracting question. I shall not, however, offer any scheme 
unless it meets my entire concurrence. 

I do not know whether any thing will be done about the Mar- 
shall in Kentucky. All our Whig delegation concurred in the 
propriety of a change ; but when we came to designate the 
man, there was unfortunately much division. The Executive 
may not, under these circumstances, deem it expedient to re- 
move the present incumbent. 

My relations to the President are civil and amicable, but they 
do not extend to any confidential consultations in regard to pub- 
lic measures. I am, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMANN. 

Washington, February 2, 1S50. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor, and I am very glad to 
find that my movement to compromise the Slavery question is 
approved. The timid from the North hesitate, and the violent 
from the South may oppose it, but I entertain hopes of its suc- 
cess. From another quarter (the Administration) there may be 
a gentle breeze of approbation. 

I shall need, therefore, popular support. Large public meet- 
ings (one at New York especially), indorsing my plan substan- 
tially, would do much good. Perhaps the last of next week or 
the week after may be early enough. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMAN. 

Washington, February 15, 1S50. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 12th inst. I am 
glad to hear of the contemplated popular movement in the city 
of New York, on the subject of the questions concerning 
slavery which are producing so much unhappy division and 



OF HENRY CLAY. G01 

distraction. Tt will do much good, if it he largo, imposing, and 
be attended without distinction of party. But I must think 
that its beneficial eflei ts will depend much upon its being con- 
ducted and regarded as : 1 cal and spontaneous assemblage, 
without any ground for the imputation of its being prompted 
fix m any exterior source. \nd I therefore think it would be 
best that there should not be any distant intervention from Con- 
gress or from any remote quarter. It would indeed be very dif- 
ficult, putting that consideration aside, to prevail upon members 
of Congress, at the moment of so much interest and excitement, 
to quit Congress and repair to New York to address the meet- 
ing. At all events, motives of delicacy and propriety would 
restrain me from addressing any member of Congress to leave 
his official position with such purpose. I should hope that it 
was not necessary, and that gentlemen from New York, the 
fresher from the masses the better, could be induced, from patri- 
otic considerations, to attend and address the meeting. 

My accounts of the reception of my scheme of adjustment 
and accommodation of the slavery questions arc encouraging. 
There is some holding back in each quarter, from a purpose of 
not committing itself, until the views of the other are known. 
But. in spite of this reserve, there are outbreaks of approbation 
and sanction of the scheme. And although I can not positively 
say so, I entertain strong hopes that it will furnish the basis of 
concord and a satisfactory accommodation. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, March G, 1850. 

My dear Son, — I have been so excessively occupied that I 
have written less to you than I wished. Henry Clay came safely 
to me, and I have placed him, for the present, at the Georgetown 
College, where he seems contented. 

Nothing has occurred since I last wrote to you on your Portu- 
guese affairs. And I presume that no communication will be 
made to Congress in respect to them, until we settle, if we i 
do settle, the Slavery subject. On this subject I made a speech, 
and offered a plan of compromise, of which I send you a copy. 
The speech has produced a powerful and salutary cllect in the 



602 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

country and in Congress. Whether the plan will be adopted or 
not remains to be seen. I think if any is finally adopted it will 
be substantially mine. 

The Kentucky Legislature has passed moderate resolutions, 
given me no instructions, and refused to be represented in the 
Nashville Convention. All this is well. 

My relations to the Executive are civil but not very cordial or 
confidential. There has been much talk all the session about 
changes in the Cabinet, and the retirement of Mr. Clayton es- 
pecially. I am inclined to think that there is some foundation 
for the rumors. 

All are well at home. 

My love to Susan. Lucy and the rest of the children. 



D. KEYES AND OTHERS TO MR. CLAY. 

Clinton, Mien., March 8, 1850. 

Dear Sir, — We are humble individuals firmly attached to the 
Democratic faith and the Democratic party, consequently can 
not indorse many things in your political creed. 

But, sir, with us the preservation and harmony of our beloved 
Union are far above all party considerations, and we rejoice at 
your present position in the United States Senate, feeling that 
your eminent abilities and patriotic devotion to the Union are 
not only the property of Kentucky, but of the whole Union. 

Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your conciliatory resolu- 
tions, and for the masterly manner in which you have supported 
and maintained them. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, March 13, 1850. 

My dear James, — I have just received your favor of the Sth 
ultimo. I suppose that the bad state of things here has prevent- 
ed Clayton from writing to you, and probably prevented the Ex- 
ecutive from calling the particular attention of Congress to Por- 
tuguese affairs. 

You will do well, if any arrangement can be effected of any 
of our claims, to obtain the written concurrence of the agents of 
the claimants, if they have any agents near you. And if none, 



OF IIKNRY CLAY. 603 

and a real doubt and difficulty occur, not covered by your in- 
struct inns, you had better take the mattei ad referendum to your 
own Government. 

We are still in the woods here, on the Slavery question, and 
I don't know when we shall tret out of them. Bad feelings 
have diminished, without our seeing, however, land. All other 
business is superseded or suspended. I do not absolutely despair 
of a settlement on the basis of my resolutions. 

My information from home is good. All are well there. 
Thomas continues to be encouraged by the prospects of his saw- 
mill, and other prospects. 

Tell Susan that I read her letter with great interest, and I 
have sent it to her mother. Her interview with the Queen, with 
all its attending circumstances, was quite imposing. As her 
health is so good at Lisbon, I do not think that you should be 
in a hurry to return home 1 , although whenever you do come we 
shall be most happy to see you. Henry Clay, jr., remains at the 
Georgetown College. 

I have seen a good deal of Sir Henry Bulwer and his lady, 
both of whom are intelligent and agreeable. He promised me, 
as I believe I informed you, to write to Lord Palmerston on our 
aiiairs with Portugal. 

Give my love to Susan, to Lucy and all the children. Tell 
Susan that I will write to her when I can. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

Washington, March ic, 1850. 

Mx dear Sir, — I have been very thankful to you for the in- 
formation you have, from time to time, communicated to me 
during the session of Congress. While on the other hand you 
have found me an inattentive correspondent. My apparent ne- 
glect proceeded merely from the cause that I had nothing certain 
or definite to communicate. 

The all-engrossing subject of slavery continues to agitate us, 
and to paralyze almost all legislation. My hopes are strong that 
the question will ultimately he amicably adjusted, although when 
or how can not be clearly seen. 

My relations to the Executive are civil but cold. We have 
very little intercourse of any kind. Instead of any disposition 



G04 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

to oblige mc, I feel that a contrary disposition has been some- 
times manifested. In the case of a Marshal for our State, four 
of the Whig members, of which I was one, united from the first 
in recommending Mr. Mitchell. Two others of them (making 
six) informed the Secretary of the Interior that they would be 
satisfied with Mr. Mitchell ; yet Speed was nominated, and his 
nomination is now before the Senate. It was the act of the 
President, against the advice of Ewiug. 

I have never before seen such an Administration. There is 
very little co-operation or concord between the two ends of the 
avenue. There is not, I believe, a prominent Whig in either 
House that has any confidential intercourse with the Executive. 
Mr. Seward, it is said, had ; but his late Abolition speech has, I 
presume, cut him off from any such intercourse, as it has eradi- 
cated the respect of almost all men for him. 

I shall continue to act according to my convictions of duty, 
co-operating where I can with the President, and opposing where 
I must. 

I congratulate you on your appointment as one of the Revisers. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SOX JAMES. 

Washington, March 17, 1S50. 

My dear Son, — I was at the Department of State yesterday, 
and some of your last dispatches were shown me, and important 
instructions to you were also read to me. These instructions 
are to be sent to you in duplicate, one copy by the mail, and the 
other copy through Commodore Morgan, who is to proceed to Lis- 
bon in one of the ships of the line, and to deliver to you the copy 
which he bears. He is then to await your orders. It is not un- 
derstood that you are to act finally on these instructions until 
the arrival of the Commodore, but that you should, in the mean 
time, go on with the negotiation for our claims, and conclude, if 
you can, a convention for their payment. 

This course of proceeding will impose on you a heavy respon- 
sibility, and you should act with great care, caution, and discre- 
tion. If you could prevail on the Portuguese Government to 
pay a sum in block, or in gross, for the amount and in full satis- 
faction of all our claims on that Government, it might save its 
honor in contesting the Armstrong case. It might stipulate to 



OF HENBT CLAY. 605 

pay a specified sum, and leave the distribution of it, among the 
claimants, to our Government. I do not know whether you 
have a knowledge of all the claims and the means of fixing on 
their just amount. I was surprised to hear at the Department 

that it was much greater than I had supposed. I would not 
insist upon extravagant or extreme allowances. I should think 
that if the owners of the Armstrong got $50,000 they might he 
satisfied. 

If, after the arrival of Commodore Morgan, and after you have 
ascertained that no arrangement of our claims can previously he 
made, the Portuguese Government should persist in refusing to 
do us justice, as I understood the instructions, you arc to notify 
that Government of your purpose to leave Lisbon, demand your 
passports, and come away. The Commodore is not to employ 
force, which would he an act of war which the President has 
no power to authorize. 

I suppose that this measure of sending a public vessel into the 
port of Lisbon lias been adopted upon your advice, at least in 
part. I hope it may succeed ; but if the Portuguese Govern- 
ment has the promise of British succor, it is not so likely to be 
successful. In the present distracted state of this country, and the 
weak condition of the Administration in Congress, it is much to 
be feared that your departure from Lisbon without the settlement 
of our claims, after the contemplated display of naval force, 
will not be followed up by the employment of the coercion 
which the serious steps you are authorized to take would seem 
to require. Hence the great importance of an amicable settle- 
ment if one can be made. And hence also I think our claims 
should be brought down to their minimum amount. 

If your negotiation should finally fail, I suppose that we may 
see you back in the United States before the close of this year. 

My last accounts from home represented all well. Give my 
love to Susan and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO JAMES HARLAN. 

Wabhhtotox, March 22, 1850. 
My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 15th instant. 
What you have stated, in answer to those who have inquired of 
you, whether under any contingency I would consent to be a 



606 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

candidate for the Presidency in 1852, is pretty much what [ 
should have said myself, if I said any thing ; but I have great 
repugnance to saying any thing about it. It would be great 
folly in me, at my age, with the uncertainty of life, and with 
a recollection of all the past, to say now that I would, under any 
contingcnces, be a candidate. I can scarcely conceive any, 
there are none in the range of probability, that would reconcile 
me to the use of my name. I have already publicly declared 
that I entertained no wish or expectation of being a candidate ; 
and I would solemnly proclaim that I never would be, under 
any circumstances whatever, if I did not think that no citizen 
has a right thus absolutely to commit himself. 

We can not yet see clearly how or when our slavery difficul- 
ties are to be settled. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, March 25, 1850. 

My deab Son, — I received together, to-day, your two favors 
of the 15th and 2Sth ultimo. I am obliged to you for the arti- 
cles you have shipped for your mother and me. I shall give 
directions about the pigs, but I am afraid there will be great 
difficulty in getting them home. You can not ship home any 
Port wine, without paying duties here. It must come back with 
you, and as a part of your luggage it will not be liable to duty. 
I should be glad to get six or eight dozen. 

I have no doubt that you may return at the end of the year, 
if you wish it. Whether you do so or not ought to depend on 
your estimate of what will most conduce to the health and hap- 
piness of your family and yourself. I should be sorry if you 
allowed your expenses to exceed your salary. Public function- 
aries are too apt to think themselves more bound than they really 
are to dispense hospitality. He acts wisest who limits himself 
to his salary. 

My last letter and the dispatches from Government will have 
apprized you that a display of naval force is to be tried as an 
experiment in aid of your negotiations. If it fail to induce the 
Portuguese Government to pay our claims, you may have to re- 
turn even sooner than you wish. I suppose it will not reach 
the port of Lisbon before May. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 607 

The Senate confirmed your Domination to-day as Boon as it 

was taken up, and without any opposition. At no time was 
there danger of any. 

I wish yon were honorably and safely through your negotia- 
tions. The employmenl of a uaval force imposes on yon a del- 
icate and heavy responsibility, of the success of which I am 
more anxious because I understand yon advised it. You may 
be officially interrogated as to the object of the presence of such 
a force. In that case, yon will pursue your instructions, and I 
suppose have to say that the ship is intruded to take yon away, 
if onr claims are not adjusted. Commodore Morgan is a partic- 
ular friend of mine and a very clever fellow. Yon may tell 
him all ahont Yorkshire, his pet, etc. 

I have got through the winter better than I expected, but I 
find the colds of this month very had. 

I am glad to hear that you are on good terms with the For- 
eign Minister. Certainly it would be a good arrangement to 
get them to recognize the justice of the Armstrong claim and 
leave the amount to arbitration ; but that they won't agree to. 

Give my love to Susan, dear Lucy, and your other children. 
All well at home when 1 last heard. 

I believe I mentioned the death of your uncle Porter in Ark 
ansas, in February. 



MR. CLAY TO S. A. ALLIBONE. 

Washington, May 10, 1850. 

My deab Sir, — Accept my cordial although tardy thanks for 
yonr friendly note of the 16th ultimo, with its inclosnre of pre- 
cious old newspapers. My public euu r au r <'nieuts will explain and 
excuse me, I hope, for not having earlier made this acknowledg- 
ment. 

I pray you to present my warm regards to your family and to 
your sister, and to assure her that I often think of her amid all 
my occupations. 



JAMES B. CLAY TO HIS FATHER. 

Lisbon, May 26, 1850. 
My dear Father. — You can not imagine in what a state of 
uncertainty, uneasiness, and expectation, we have been during 



808 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

this entire month. I had been informed by Mr. Clayton that it 
was the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy that the ship from 
the Mediterranean, with my final instructions, would reach here 
by the 1st of this month, and it is now nearly the last, and it 
has not arrived. I have seen by the English papers that the 
storeship Erie, which, I presume, took Commodore Morgan his 
orders, was lying, with the commodore, in the harbor of Naples, 
on the 27th last month, in fifteen days after he ought to have 
been here ; why he is net, God only knows. I have been con- 
stantly uneasy foi? fear that his non-arrival might prejudice the 
settlement of our affairs; and if this Government had a grain of 
common sense, it would have done so very much. Their true 
policy, having determined not to pay, was most certainly to offer 
an arbitration of all the claims, and I have been every instant 
fearing that such an offer would be made ; a rejection of it, which 
I would have to make, would, of course, have put us in a worse 
position before the world. 

The English Charge, Mr. Howard, the brother of the Earl of 
Carlisle, told me the other day, that Mr. Bulwer had written to 
Lord Palmerston, as he promised you, to advise these people to 
pay all the claims which were just, and to offer to arbitrate the 
others ; and I presume he did so, for Mr. 'Howard told me, at 
the same time, that Count Fayal had informed him that he had 
offered to arbitrate all. This impression he has been for some 
time trying to create, through the papers and otherwise. You 
may have seen an article in " The London Times" speaking of 
my rejection of the offer, etc.; this, I know, was denied from 
Fayal, who shows everything to the correspondent of that paper. 
Lord Palmerston has very little influence here. He has been 
always opposed to the Cabral Ministry, and there is no goodwill 
between them. I took occasion to inform Mr. Howard, that it 
was wholly untrue that Count Fayal had offered to arbitrate all 
our claims, and said that I had no objection to his so informing 
his Government. 

I can not predict what will be the effect produced by the 
coming of the ship, if ever she does arrive, or of my demand for 
my passport, if they don't pay. Our action has, throughout the 
affair, been so dilatory, that I am sure it can not have so great 
influence as promptness would have done. It has always been 
my opinion that I ought to have been sent here in a ship of war, 



OF HENRY CLAY. 609 

with the srinn- instructions given al last. Our position at the 
time of my arrival was by all odds better than it is now. 

Should we be suffered to go away, I am undetermined whether 
we shall goto Naples and to Paris; through Italy and Switzer- 
land, or go at once to Paris. I shall be determined by Commo- 
dore Morgan's course. If he offers to take us to Naples,as it will 
not be out of his way, I shall accept. If we go that way. we 
will still reach America in November. 

As the season has arrived for Southerners to bo in Kentucky, 
perhaps my house could now be sold. I should like it to be ; 
as on our return home, if you won't sell me Ashland, I am deter- 
mined to try and buy Crutchfield's place on the Ohio. Can you 
write to Trotter or Pindell about the house ? 

28th. — Commodore Morgan has not arrived, and I am in hourly 
expectation of receiving, what I feared I should receive, a prop- 
osition to arbitrate all the claims. I dined last night with the 
Duke of Leuchtenberg, the son-in-law of the Emperor of Russia, 
at the Russian Legation, when the Minister asked if I had re- 
ceived such a proposition, as Count Fayal had told him he in- 
tended to make it. He seemed surprised when I told him I had 
not. I shall regret to receive it, because I think my instructions 
will oblige me to reject it, and I know it will place us in a worse 
position before the world. Either Commodore Morgan has had 
orders of which I was not informed, or he has not been as active 
as he might, and ought to have been. 

Nine o'clock at night. — 1 .have just received a note from the 
Minister, stating the willingness of his Government to arbitrate 
all the claims, but as he rejects the last of them in the same note, 
and as his language is not a distinct proposition to arbitrate, I 
shall not so consider it. 

We are all well, and Susan joins me in affectionate love to 
you. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, May M, I860. 

My dear Son, — I have written to you less of late than 1 wished, 

owing to my perpetual public occupations. We are yet in the 

midst of our slavery discussions, with no certainty of the final 

result. I have hopes of the final success of the compromise ]>■- 

39 



610 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

ported by me of the Committee of Thirteen, but with less con- 
fidence than I desire. 

By this time, I presume that your public duties at Lisbon are 
brought to an unsuccessful close. I fear that the display of force 
in the port of Lisbon has not been attended with the benefit 
anticipated from it. 

I have got Henry Clay admitted as a cadet in West Point, 
and he has gone home to see his relations, and to return to me 
next week to enter the Academy. 

You will see in the papers that I have spoken a great deal 
(much more than I wished) in the Senate. In my last speech I 
had to attack the plan of the Administration, for compromising 
our slavery difficulties ; its course left me no other alternative. 
My friends speak in terms of extravagant praise of my speeches, 
and especially of the last. 

Since I began this letter, I received your letter of the 2Sth 
April, with Susan's long and interesting letter to her mother, 
which I have read and forwarded this moment. 

I do not entertain much hope of the effect of the display of 
naval force in getting our claims allowed, and consequently I 
expect you will leave Lisbon soon after you receive this letter. 
Should they be allowed, and should Portugal raise the rank of 
her representatives, I suppose the measure would be reciprocated 
by our Executive. 

I am delighted to hear that you are all so happy, and that 
dear Lucy has some good prospect of recovery. 

I send a letter from Mary to Susan, and I am to blame for 
some delay in its transmission. My love to her, and to all your 
dear children. 



MR. CLAY TO MRS. THOMAS H. CLAY. 

Washington, July 13, IS 50. 

My dear Mary, — I received your letter with its inclosure. I 
wish you would tell your mother not to pay the Abion's account, 
or any other account against me, without my direction. I will 
nrrange these matters myself. 

My health is reasonably good. Mrs. Brand, of Lexington, 
and her party are now here, and will to-day witness the funeral 
ceremonies of General Taylor, about which the whole city is 
now in commotion. 



OF HBNBY CLAY. 611 

Tell Thomas that T think the event which has happened will 
favor the passage of the Compromise bill. 

I can not tell yon, my dear May. how anxious I am to be at 
home with your dear mother, my wife, and all of you. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON THOMAS. 

PHILADELPHIA, August C, 1850. 

My dear Thomas, — I am here on my way to Newport, for 
which place I proceed to-morrow, and hope to reach it during 
the night. 

I received your letter of the 28th ultimo, and I was gratified 
to learn that your prospects from the saw-mill were so good. 

My relations with Mr. Fillmore are perfectly friendly and con- 
fidential. In the appointment of Mr. Crittenden I acquiesced. 
Mr. F. asked me how we stood ? I told him that the same de- 
gree of intimacy between us which once existed, no longer pre- 
vailed ; but that we were on terms of civility. I added that, 
if he thought of introducing him into his Cabinet, I hoped that 
no considerations of my present relations to him would form any 
obstacle. 

I shall be very glad if any thing can be done for Carroll, and 
and I will see on my return to Washington. 

As to the post-office in Lexington, my wishes will, I antici- 
pate, finally prevail. 

I am very much worn down, but I hope that Newport will 
replace my health and strength. 

My love to Mary and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON THOMAS. 

Newport, August 15, 1850. 
My dear Thomas, — I received your two last letters, the last 
inclosing one from Mary to Susan, which I have forwarded. 
James will return in October or November ; he has closed his 
negotiation, and although he has concluded no convention with 
Portugal, he has succeeded in placing our claims with that Gov- 
ernment on a much better footing than they ever stood before. 
He has sent old Aaron home, and he is now in Washington 



612 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

I have been benefited by my visit to this place, and shall remain 
here about a week longer. It is so cool here as to require the 
use of fires. 

They are passing through the Senate, in separate bills, all the 
measures of our Compromise, and if they should pass the House 
also, I hope they will lead to all the good effects which woul 1 
have resulted from the adoption of the Compromise. 

I have seen Henry Pindle's wife here, and I was very glad to 
hear from her that your mother is in good health, and that she 
has been enjoying more of society than she has been accustomed 
to do. 

Give my love to Mary and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON THOMAS. 

Washington, September 6, 1850. 

My dear Thomas, — I have received your letter of the 31st 
ult. I congratulate Louisa and her family upon her marriage, 
which I hope and believe may prove a happy one. 

We can see no end yet of this fatiguing session. So far, 
nothing is definitely decided on the slavery question. Perhaps 
there may be to-day or to-morrow. In the mean time I am 
again getting very much exhausted. I wish that I had remained 
longer at Newport, where I was much benefited. I shall as soon 
as possible return home, where I desire to be more than I ever 
did in my life. 

My love to Mary and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO MRS. JAMES B. CLAY. 

Ashland, November 21, 1850. 

I was rejoiced, my dear Susan, to have seen by the newspa- 
pers, that you and your children had arrived safely at New 
York, and by the telegraphic dispatch, which you sent me from 
Pittsburg, that you had reached that city. Not knowing whether 
you will first come here or go to Louisville, I address this 
letter to you at the latter. I expect to leave home on the first 
or second of next month. Will you come here before I go ? If 
not, I must try to go by Louisville to see you and the children. 



OF HENRY CLAY. G13 

I have sold James' house for nine thousand dollars, one third to 
be paid at New Orleans the first of January next, one third in 
October next, and the other third the October following, all well 
secured. Harvey Miller was the purchaser. Considering James' 
anxiety to sell, and the low price of town property, the sale is 
considered a good one. But if he had been ;it home, and could 
have made an arrangement with me for the purchase of Ash- 
land, I would have allowed him ten thousand dollars for his 
house. Mr. Miller had left the house, and I could get no good 
tenant. So you see you are without house and home ; but I 
hope you will pass as much of your time as you can at Ashland. 
John expects to go to New Orleans in two or three weeks. We 
are all well here and at Mansfield. 

Write me immediately about your movements. My love to 
Lucy and the other children. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, December 23, 1850. 
My dear James, — Prior to the receipt of your letter, dated at 
Ashland the 17th instant, I had addressed a letter to you contain- 
ing some things not necessary to be repeated here. I have not 
yet had a good opportunity of conversing with either the Presi- 
dent or Mr. Webster about you or your late mission ; but the 
other night at Jenny Lind's concert, sitting by Mr. Webster, he 
broke forth in extravagant praises of you. I do not think that 
you ought to put an unfriendly interpretation upon any thing 
which occurred about your return to Lisbon. Your letter from 
Geneva of September did not contain an unconditional oiler to 
return. You submitted some point of honor to Mr. Webster. I 
think he might have sent earlier instructions to you ; but I sup- 
pose his absence from Washington and his indisposition formed 
his excuse. In his letter of the 5th November (which I hastily 
read) he seems to have been undecided whether you wisbed to 
return or not, but left it to you to determine. After yen returned 
to the United States I do not think that you ought to have gone 
back to Lisbon for the temporary | f concluding in Con- 

vention. And. upon the whole. I have no regrets al i at it, con- 
sidering how well and how strongly the President you, 
m his annual Message, and in what favorable terms, officially 



614 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

and privately, Mr. Webster speaks of you, and that the public 
ascribes to you the success of the negotiation. I wrote you that 
I think you are entitled to your salary up to the 20th Novem- 
ber and a quarter beyond, and to indemnity for any loss in furni- 
ture, etc., in consequence of your sudden departure from Lisbon. 
I believe it is usual also to charge for stationery, postage, 
etc. If you will send me your account I will endeavor to have 
it settled. 

I was in hopes that you would stay with your mother until 
my return, and that we would then talk about your future. As 
to your purchase of Ashland, I never desired that you should 
make it, unless prompted by your own interests and feelings. 
When I go hence it must be sold, and I have never feared that it 
would not command a fair and full price. 

I should regret deeply to see you set down doing nothing. 
You must engage in some occupation or you will be miserable. 
The law, farming, or the public service, are the only pursuits 
which I suppose present themselves to you. You don't like the 
first, which is moreover nowhere in Kentucky profitable ; and 
your decision must be between the two others. I had inferred 
that you were tired of diplomacy, unless you could get a higher 
grade than that which you lately held. At present there is none 
that I know of ; but perhaps some vacancy may occur. As to 
elevating the mission to Lisbon, I have heard here of no propo- 
sal to that effect. It does not depend, you know, exclusively on 
the Executive ; Congress must sanction it. Possibly after the 
conclusion of the Convention, if Portugal should desire to ele- 
vate the rank of her minister, it may be proposed to reciprocate 
it by the President ; but I do not apprehend that a higher rank 
would be thought of than that of minister resident. 

You did not say whether you were satisfied or not with my 
sale of your house and lot. I would not have sold it but for 
your great anxiety to sell. It was a good house, but I never 
liked its external appearance. The situation was one of the 
finest in Lexington. 

You will direct what I shall do with the draft for $3000 when 
I receive it from New Orleans. 

My love to Susan, Lucy, and the other children. 



OF UKNRV CLAY. 615 



MR. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

"Washington, March 8, 1851. 

My pear Wife, — T have finally concluded to return by Cuba 
and New Orleans. The great difficulty I have felt in coming to 
the conclusion has been my long absence from you, and my de- 
sire to be with you. But my cough continues; although I do not 
lay up, my health is bad, and the weather has been the worst of 
March weather. The road, too, by Cumberland, I am told, is al- 
most impassable^ I hope that I may be benefited by the softer 
climate of Cuba. I expect to go on the 11th from New York 
in the steamer Georgia. And I think my absence from home 
will not be prolonged beyond a month, that is the middle of 
April. On settling my bank accounts, I will either from here or 
New York make a remittance to you. 

I send herewith a check on York for $400 which I have en- 
dorsed to you, and of which you will make any use you may 
think proper. 

I have written to John and telegraphed him, to put him at ease 
about Yorkshire, and I hope all will go well at home until my 
return. 

God bless and preserve you, my dear wife. 



MR. CLAY TO ADAM BEATTY. 

Ashland, April 28, 1851. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor transmitting two letters, 
one addressed to yourself and the other in reply to it, and I thank 
you for the opportunity afforded me of perusing them. 

If the course of affords cause of regret, I am grateful 

for the firmness and fidelity with which you remained attached 
to me in 1S4S, as upon all former occasions. 

The nomination made of General Taylor, in Philadelphia, has 
now no other than an historical int .It lias long ceased to 

. t me. I fear, indeed, that it has had a pernicious influence 
upon the Whig cause, but of that we shall hereafter be able bet- 
ter to judge. I concur entirely in tl i in your 
reply to . Had I been nominated I am perfectly confi- 
dent that I should have obtained i \ • ry electoral vote which he 
received, and, besides them, the vote of Ohio certainly, and that 



616 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

of Indiana probably. My majority in Pennsylvania would have 
been greater than that which was given to him. But the thing 
is passed, and no one has more quietly submitted to the event 
than I have. 

I was very sorry that circumstances were such as not to admit 
of my calling to see you on my return home ; but I hope we 
may yet live to meet each other. I returned by the route of 
Cuba and New Orleans, and was highly gratified with my visit 
to that delightful island. 



MB. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Ashland, May 9, 1S51. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter of the 28th ultimo. 
From Susan I had learned your plans for the future. Although 
they involve a separation of you and your family from me, I can 
not complain of them and think them judicious. I am afraid 
that we did not explain ourselves mutually fully to each other. 
It was my anxious wish that you should have succeeded me in 
the possession of Ashland, if it had suited your inclination and 
interest, and if you had been at home I think we could have 
made some arrangement by which you could have come into the 
immediate possession of it, and I could have taken your house. 
But you were not here ; and before you went to Europe, and in 
your letters from Lisbon, you displayed so much anxiety to sell 
the house that I concluded to take the offer of Mr. Miller. Mr. 
Trotter too was about to give it up, and as I was on the eve of 
my departure for Washington, and knew of no tenant that I 
could get, I did not well know what to do with it. I think it 
ought to have brought ten thousand dollars, which is what I 
should have been willing to have allowed for it, but I obtained 
the best price I could get, and the sale of it was far better than 
that to Mr. Goodhue which you appeared willing to make. 

My health is not good, a troublesome and inconvenient cough 
has hung by me for six months past ; it has reduced and enfeebled 
me very much. Dr. Dudley thinks that my lungs are unaffect- 
ed, and that it proceeds from some derangement in the functions 
of the stomach. Be that as it may, I must get rid of the cough 
or it will dispose of me. My hopes rest upon' the effects of warm 
weather. 



OF HENRY OLAY, 617 

Susan and the children are well, and appear to be contented 
and satisfied. They are a source of great happiness to me, and 
I look forward to their Leaving us with painful anticipations. 
Your mother and John are b.oth quite well, and so are Thomas 
and his family. John is constantly occupied with our numerous 
horses and those which are sent to Ashland. He is in good 
spirits and appears much encouraged with prospects, and I think 
has reason to be so. My overseer is doing admirably well, and 
your mother is better pleased with him than she ever was with 
any of his predecessors. I have a great many things to say to 
you and to talk to you about, but among the inconveniences of 
my present indisposition, one is, that it is less agreeable to me 
than formerly to write or even to dictate, as I am now doing. 1 
must therefore reserve for the occasion of your return to us to 
say whatever X now omit. Susan gets your weekly letters regu- 
larly and I hope you will continue to write, as in that way I can 
learn your projects and prospects. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMAN. 

Ashland, June 14, 1851. 

My dear Sir, — I duly received your favor of the 29th ultimo, 
stating that some of my friends in New York have it under dis- 
cussion, to make a movement to bring forward my name for the 
Presidency; and inquiring, in entire confidence, what my own 
views and wishes are, upon the subject. I have delayed trans- 
mitting an answer to your letter, from a desire to give to its im- 
portant contents the fullest and most deliberate consideration^ 
That I have now done, and I will communicate the result to 
you. 

You will recollect that the last time but one that T was in the 
city of New York, I had the pleasure of dining with you and 

a number of other friends at the house of our friend M ; 

that we then had a frank, full, and confidential conversation on 
the connection of my name with the next Presidency : and that 
I then declared that I did not wi^h ever again to be brought for- 
ward as a candidate. From that declaration, 1 have never since 
deviated in thought, word, or deed. I have said or done noth- 
ing inconsistent with it ; nothing which implied any desire on 



618 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

my part to have my name presented as a Presidential candidate. 
On a review and reconsideration of the whole matter, I adhere 
to that declaration. 

Considering my age, the delicate state of my health, the fre- 
quency and the unsuccessful presentation of my name on former 
occasions, I feel an unconquerable repugnance to such a use of it 
again. I can not, therefore, consent to it. I have been some- 
times tempted publicly to announce that, under no circumstances, 
would I yield my consent to be brought forward as a candidate. 
But I have been restrained from taking that step by two consid- 
erations. The first was, that I did not see any such general 
allusion to me, as a suitable person for the office, as to make it 
proper that I should break silence and speak out ; and the sec- 
ond was that I have always thought that no citizen has a right 
to ostracise himself, and to refuse public service under all possi- 
ble contingencies. 

I might here stop, but I will add some observations on the 
general subject of the next election. I think it quite clear that 
a Democrat will be elected, unless that result shall be prevented 
by divisions in the Democratic party. On these divisions the 
Whigs might advantageously count, if it were not for those 
which exist in their own party. It is, perhaps, safest to con- 
clude that the divisions existing in the two parties will counter- 
balance each other. 

Party ties have no doubt been greatly weakened generally, 
and, in particular localities, have been almost entirely destroyed. 
But it would be unwise to suppose that, when the two parties 
shall have brought out their respective candidates, each will not 
rally around its own standard. There maybe exceptions; but 
those, on the one side, will probably be counterpoised by- those 
on the other. I believe that no one in the Whig party could 
obtain a greater amount of support from the Democratic party 
than I could ; but in this I may be deceived by the illusions of 
egotism. At all events it would be unsafe and unwise for a can- 
didate of one party to calculate upon any suffrages of the other. 
While I do not think that the hopes of success on the part of 
the Whigs at the next Presidential election are very flattering or 
encouraging, I would not discourage their putting forth their 
most energetic exertions. There are always the chances of the 
war. The other party may commit great blunders, as they did 
recently in your State, in the course of their Senators, who op- 



OF HENRY CLAY. 619 

posed the enlargement of the Erie Canal ; and as they are disposed 
to do in respect to the lake, river, and harbor improvements. 

No candidate, I hope and believe, ean be elected who is not 
in favor of the Union, and in favor of the Compromise of the 
last Congress (including the Fugitive Slave hill}, us necessary 
means to sustain it. Of the candidates spoken of on the Dem- 
ocratic side, I confess that I should prefer General Cass. He is, 
I think, more to be relied on than any of his competitors. Dur- 
ing the trials of the long session of the last Congress, he bore 
himself firmly, consistently; and patriotically. He has quite as 
much ability, quite as much firmness, and, I think, much more 
honesty and sincerity than Mr. Buchanan. 

If I were to offer any advice to my friends, it would be not 
to commit themselves prematurely to either of the two Whig 
candidates who have been prominently put forward. Strong 
objections, although of a very different kind, exist against them 
both. They had better wait. It will bp time enough next 
winter to decide ; and I am inclined to believe that both of 
those gentlemen will find, in the sequel, that they have taken, 
or their friends have put them in, the field, too early. 

Besides pre-existing questions, a new one will probably arise 
at the next session of Congress, involving the right of any one 
of the States of the Union, upon its own separate will and 
pleasure, to secede from the residue, and become a distinct and 
independent power. The decision of that momentous question 
can not but exert some influence, more or less, upon the next Pres- 
idential election. For my own part, I utterly deny the existence 
of any such right, and I think an attempt to exercise it ought to 
be resisted to the last extremity ; for it is, in part, a question of 
union or no union. 

You inquire if I will visit Newport this summer, with the 
view of ascertaining whether it might not be convenient there, 
or at some other Eastern place, to present me a gold medal which 
I understand my good friends are | ;jg for me. I have 

been absent from home fifteen out of the last nineteen months, 
and I feel great reluctance to leaving it, during the present sum- 
mer. If I were to go to the Eastward, I should have to return 
early in the autumn, and soon after to go back to Washington, 
unless I resign my scat in the Senate of the United States. Un- 
der these circumstances, my present inclination is to remain at 
home and to attend to my private affairs, which need my care. 



620 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

Should my friends persevere in their purpose of presenting 
me the proposed medal, some suitable time and place can be 
hereafter designated for that purpose. Surely no man was ever 
blessed with more ardent and devoted friends than I am, and, 
among them, none are more or perhaps so enthusiastic as those 
in the city of New York. God bless them. I wish it was in 
my power to testify my gratitude to them in full accordance 
with the fervent impulses of my heart. 



MR. CLAY TO S. A. ALLLBONE. 

Ashland, June 30, 1851. 

My dear Sir, — I received your friendly letter of the 23d in- 
stant. I have been so much from home during the last eighteen 
months that it is not my purpose at present to leave it this sum- 
mer. 

I have no doubt, with you, that many of the quiet and well- 
disposed citizens of South Carolina are opposed to the measures 
of violence which are threatened by others. But the danger is, 
as history shows too often happens, that the bold, the daring, 
and the violent will get the control, and push their measures to 
a fatal extreme. Should the State resolve to secede, it will pre- 
sent a new form of trial to our system : but I entertain undoubt- 
ing confidence that it will come out of it with the most triumph- 
ant success. 

I thank you for your friendly tender of your services. Should 
anv occasion for the use of them arise, I will avail myself of 
them, with great pleasure. 

Do me the favor to present my warm regards to your good 
sister ; and I reciprocate your kind wishes and prayers, with all 
my heart. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMANN. 

Ashland, September 26, 1851. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor of the 19fh instant, with 
the memorial inclosed. On the subject of the next Presidency, my 
opinions and views have undergone no change since I last wrote 
to you. Should I be able, as I now hope to be, from my slowly 



OF HENRY CLAY. 621 

improving health, to attend the next session of the Senate, we 
will confer more freely on that subject. In the mean time, I 
am glad that my friends in New York have forename to present 

my name as a candidate. 

I have looked at the list of events and subjects which are pro- 
posed to be inscribed on the medal. J have made ou1 and sent 
herewith a more comprehensive list, embracing mosl of the im- 
portant matters, as to which I had any agency, during my serv- 
ice in the National councils. As to the Cumberland Road, no 
year can be properly fixed. Appropriations for it were made 
from year to year, for a series of years, which were violently 
opposed, and the support of which chiefly devolved on me. So 
in regard to Spanish America, the first movement was made by 
me in 1818, aud my exertions were continued from year to year, 
until the measure of recognition was finally completed in 1822. 

The list now sent may be too large for inscription on the 
medal. Of course it is my wish that it should be dealt with, by 
abridgment, or omission as may be thought proper. The two 
reports, made by me in the Senate, which gave me much credit 
and reputation were, 1st. That which proposed an equal distri- 
bution among the States of the proceeds of the public domain ; 
and 2d. That which averted General Jackson's meditated war 
against France, on account of her failure to pay the indemnity. 
I carried both measures against the whole weight of Jackson ; 
but he pocketed the Land Distribution bill, which was not 
finally passed until 1841. He could not, however, make war 
against France, without the concurrence of Congress, and my 
report preserved the peace of the two countries. 

My Panama instructions were the most elaborate (and if I 
may be allowed to speak of them), the ablest State paper that 
I composed while I was in the Department of State. They 
contain an exposition of liberal principles, regulating Maritime 
War, Neutral Rights, etc., which will command the approbation 
of enlightened men and of posterity. 

I was glad to see that you were nominated for Attorney-Gen- 
eral at Syracuse, and 1 heartily wish for your election. 

The address to me from New York, although published in 
the papers, has not been received oilicially by me. What is in- 
tended? 1 have had some correspondence about it with Mr. 
James D. P. Ogden, who sent me a copy informally. I can not 
venture to encounter the scenes of excitement which would 



622 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. 

attend me, if I were to go to New York ; but in anticipation 
of the reception of the address I have prepared a pretty long 
answer, in which I treat of Secession, the state of the country, 
in regard to the Slavery question, etc. If this answer be capa- 
ble of doing any good, the sooner it is published the better. 

[The medal alluded to in the foregoing letter, was presented 
to Mr. Clay the 9th of February, 1852, and is described as fol- 
lows :] 

It is of pure California gold, massive and weighty, and is in- 
closed in a silver case, which opens with a hinge in the manner 
of a hunting-watch. On the face of the medal is a fine head 
of Mr. Clay, most felicitous in the likeness, and conveying the 
characteristic impression of his features in a higher degree than 
any of the busts or medallions usually seen. The relief is very 
high, and must have required a pressure of immense power to 
give it its fullness, sharpness, and delicacy of outline. The 
reverse exhibits the following inscription : 

Senate, 

1806. 

Speaker, 1811. 

War of 1S12 with Great Britain. 

Giiext, 1814. 

Spanish America, 1822. 

Missouri Compromise, 1821. 

American System, 1S24. 

Greece, 1824. 

Secretary op State, 1825. 

Panama Instructions, 1826. 

Tariff Compromise, 

1833. 

Public Domain, 1833— 1S41. 

Peace with France Preserved, 1835. 

Compromise, 1850. 

The lines are supported on either hand by tasteful wreaths, 
in which the six chief American staples — wheat, corn, cotton, 
tobacco, rice, and hemp — are very happily intertwined. 

On the silver case is represented on one side a view of the 
Capitol (with its contemplated additional wings fully displayed) ; 
and on the other in two distinct compartments above, an eleva- 
tion of the great commemorative monument on the Cumberland 
road ; below, a view of Ashland and its mansion. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 628 



BrR. CLAY TO HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, MRS. TFIOS. H. CT. \Y. 

W i WGT05, December 25, 1 SI. 
My deab Mary, — I received to-day your letter of the 10th 
instant, and I was very glad to get the details contained in it 

about yourself, your family, and affairs at Ashland. And I am 
under very great obligations to you and to Thomas for the kind 
oiler which you have made, to come either one or both of you 
to Washington, to attend me during my present illness. If there 
were the least occasion for it, I should with pleasure accept the 
offer ; but there is not. Every want, every wish, every atten- 
tion which I need, is supplied. The hotel at which I stay has 
a bill of fare of some thirty or forty articles every day, from 
which I can select any for which I have a relish, and if I want 
any thing which is not on the bill of fare, it is promptly pro- 
cured for me. The state of my case may be told in a few 
words. If I can get rid of this distressing cough, or can mate- 
rially reduce it, I may yet be restored to a comfortable condi- 
tion. That is the present aim of my physicians, and I have 
some hope that it has abated a little within the last, few days. 
But if the cough can not be stopped or considerably reduced, it 
will go on until it accomplishes its work. When that may be, 
it is impossible to say, with any sort of certainty. I may linger 
for some months, long enough possibly to reach home once 
more. At all events, there is no prospect at present of immedi- 
ate dissolution. Under these circumstances, I have no desire to 
bring any member of my family from home, when there is not 
the least necessity for it. With regard to the rumors which 
reach you from time to time, and afflict, you, you must bear 
with them, and rest assured of what I have already communi- 
cated to your mother, that if my case should take a fatal turn, 
the telegraph shall communicate the fact. I occupy two excel- 
lent rooms, the temperature of which is kept up during the day 
at about 70°. The greatest inconvenience I feel is from the 
bad weather, which has confined me nearly a fortnight to my 
room, and I can take no exercise until the weather changes. 
My love to Thomas and all your children, to your mother, and 
to all others at Ashland. 



624 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



FATHER MATTHEW TO MR. CLAY. 

Cor.K, December 29, 1851. 
My dearest Sir, — From the south of that green island which 
you have often,, in your own eloquent and all but inspired lan- 
guage, made the subject of your warmest eulogy, the most 
grateful of your admirers presumes to intrude on your well-filled 
time, by presenting to you his heartfelt wishes, at the commence- 
ment of the New Year, humbly praying that the Great Bestower 
of every good may bless you with length of days, to promote 
the prosperity of that great country whose pride and glory you 
are, filling both it and Europe with your well-merited fame. 
Blessed be the remainder of your brilliant and useful life, and 
may the prospect of future glory gild it with felicity. Uniting 
your most respected lady in my humble prayer and sincere 
wishes, and the other amiable and beloved members of your 
dear family, to whom I had the honor of an introduction, with 
enduring remembrance of your exceeding kindness in the day 
of my distress, I have the honor to be, most respected sir, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON THOMAS. 

Washington, January 10, 1S52. 

My dear Thomas, — I received two or three letters from you 
since I came here, and should have answered them with pleas- 
ure if my strength and health would have admitted of it. You 
observe now I am obliged to employ the pen of a friend. I was 
very thankful for the kind offer of yourself and Mary to come 
here and nurse me. I should have promptly accepted, if it had 
been necessary, but it was not. Every want and wish that I 
have are kindly attended to. I am surrounded by good friends, 
who are ready and willing to serve me ; and you and Mary 
yourselves could not have been more assiduous in your atten- 
tions than are my friends the Calverts. 

The state of my health has not very materially altered. 
Within the last eight or ten days there has been some improve- 
ment ; not so great as my friends persuade themselves, but still 
some improvement. The solution of the problem of my recov- 
ery depends upon the distressing cough which I have, and I 
think that it is a little diminished. I am embargoed here by 



OF EENBT CLAY. 625 

the severity of the winter, which has confined me to the house 
for the last three weeks. I hope to derive some benefit when 
I shall be again able to drive out in the open air. You must 
continue to write me without regard to my ability to reply. It 
is a source of great comfort to me to hear, and to hear fully, 
from Ashland and Mansfield. John has been very kind in writ- 
ing very frequently to me. Give my love to Mary and all the 
children. 



MR. CLAY TO SAMUEL A. ALLIBONE. 

Washington, January 11, l«r>'2. 
Mr dear Sir, — Although too unwell myself to write you, I 
can not withhold the expression, through the pen of a friend, 
of my thanks for your kind letter of the 10th instant, and for 
the warm interest which you take in my restoration to health. 
I thank you especially for your friendly offer to come hither 
and assist in nursing me ; but I am so extremely well attended 
in that respect, as not to render necessary the acceptance of your 
obliging offer. Present my warm regards to your sister, and tell 
her that as the probability is that neither of us is long for this 
world, I hope that when we go hence we shall meet in one far 
better. I am, with the greatest respect, etc. 



THEODORE ERELINGHUYSEN TO MR. CLAY. 

New Bkunsv, u k, January 19, 1852. 

My dear Sir, — I have heard with great interest and anxiety 
of your continued feeble health, and that it had rather been more 
feeble since your decided testimony in behalf of Washington's 
foreign policy. I was rejoiced to hear your words of soberness 
and truth on the exciting question of Hungarian politics; and I 
trust that a divine blessing will follow your counsels. 

In this time of impaired health, and sometimes trying despond- 
ency that ensues, it must be refreshing to look away to Him 
who is a helper near in trouble, and able and willing to sustain 
and comfort you. This blessed Gospel, that reveals the riches 
of God's grace in Jesus ( Inist, is a wonderful remedy : so suited 
to our condition and character, and so full of inexpressible con- 
solation to us, as sinners needing mercy. His blood cleansing 

40 



626 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

us from the guilt of sin, His Spirit purifying our hearts, and re- 
storing us to God's image and favor. May you, my dear friend, 
largely partake of its comforts, and leaning all your hopes on the 
Almighty Saviour's arm, hold on your way, for life and for death, 
for time and eternity, in His name and strength. 



WILLIAM M'LAIN TO MR. CLAY. 

Colonization Rooms, "Washington City, February 9, 1852. 

Dear Sir, — At the recent annual meeting of the American 
Colonization Society, the following resolution was unanimously 
adopted : 

Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with our venerable 
President, the Hon. Henry Clay, in his present protracted illness, 
by which we are deprived of his presence and able counsels at 
this annual meeting of our Society, to which he has, from its 
foundation, devoted himself with signal ability and unwavering 
fidelity ; and that we hold him in affectionate and grateful re- 
membrance for the distinguished services he has rendered in the 
prosecution of the great scheme of African colonization. 

I take great pleasure, my dear sir, in furnishing you with the 
foregoing resolution. 

Hoping that you may be restored to health, and that this 
Society may continue to have the honor of your name and influ- 
ence as its President, I remain, etc. 



MR. CLAY TO MRS. JAMES B. CLAY. 

Washington, February 12, 1852. 
My dear Susan, — I received your letter of the 27th ultimo, 
and I had received that of James' of the 1st. I write now so 
uncomfortably and so slow, that I take up my pen with great 
repugnance. I was very glad to receive both of your letters, and 
was delighted to contemplate the picture of your domestic hap- 
piness with your husband and children. As the world recedes 
from me, I feel my affections more than ever concentrated on 
my children, and theirs. 

My health has improved a little within the last few weeks, 
but the cough still hangs on, and unless I can get rid of it, or 



OF HENRY CLAY. 027 

greatly diminish it, I can not look for a radical cure. The 
winter 1ms been excessively rigorous, and I have not been out 
of the house for eight weeks. You must not believe all you see 
in the newspapers, favorable or unfavorable, aboul my health. 

I hope you and James will continue to write u> me, whether 
you receive regular replies or not. How has the dairy got through 
the winter? 

My love to James and all my dear grandchildren. 



MB. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, February 24, 1852. 

My dear Son, — T received your letter of the 10th. I should 
have written you oftcner, but I am so feeble, and write with so 
little comfort, that T take up the pen reluctantly. I hope that 
you and Susan, notwithstanding my apparent delinquency, will 
write me frequently, giving me full details of all your plans, im- 
provements, and business. There is nothing now that interests 
me so much as to receive full accounts from the members of my 
family frequently. Although you have got more in debt than I 
could have wished, you ought to be very happy. In dear Susan 
you have an excellent wife, and you have a fine parcel of prom- 
ising children, and you have ample means of support. 

I gave my deposition in your case with Miller week before 
the last, and it was sent to Lexington. It proved all that was 
expected of me. 

My health continues very delicate. I have not been out of 
the house for upward of two months. I can not recognize any 
encouraging change. My cough still hangs on, although I some- 
times hope that it is a little abated. If I can not get rid of it, 
or at least greatly diminish it, I think it must prove fatal. But 
I may linger for months to come. I should be glad to get home 
once more. 

My love to Susan, and kisses for all the children. I would 
be glad to write more, but you can not conceive bow this little 
letter has exhausted me. 



628 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CI. AY TO DANIEL ULLMAN. 

Washington-, March 6, 1852. 

My dear Sir, — I received your favor transmitting an engrossed 
copy of the address which you did me the honor to make to me 
on the occasion of presenting the medal which my New York 
friends had offered me. I thank you for this corrected copy of 
the address which is very beautifully engrossed. 

The medal has been in the possession of the goldsmiths of 
this place, who desired the custody of it to gratify public curi- 
osity. You wish it returned that a more accurate impression 
may be made by striking another. I examined it to see if I 
could discern the defect in the letters to which you refer, and I 
confess I could not. If to strike it again will occasion any 
trouble or expense to my friends, I think it might well be avoid- 
ed, but if you persist in your desire to have it done, I will have 
it sent to you by Adams' Express next week. 

You rightly understood me in expressing a preference for Mr. 
Fillmore as the Whig candidate for the Presidency. This I did 
before I left home, and have frequently here in private inter- 
course, since my arrival at Washington. I care not how gen- 
erally the fact may be known, but I should not deem it right to 
publish any formal avowal of that preference under my own sig- 
nature in the newspapers. Such a course would subject me to 
the imputation of supposing that my opinions possessed more 
weight with the public than I apprehend they do. The founda- 
tion of my preference is, that Mr. Fillmore has administered the 
Executive Government with signal success and ability. He has 
been tried and found true, faithful, honest, and conscientious. I 
wish to say nothing in derogation from his eminent competitors, 
they have both rendered great services to their country ; the one 
in the field, the other in the Cabinet. They might possibly ad- 
minister the Government as well as Mr. Fillmore has done. But 
then neither of them has been tried ; he has been tried in the 
elevated position he now holds, and I think that prudence and 
wisdom had better restrain us from making any change without 
a necessity for it, the existence of which I do not perceive. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 629 



MR. CLAY TO IIIS SON JAMES. 

\Y ISHBIGTON, M;in-h M, 1852. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter of the 1st instant, and 
at the same time one from Susan. They both interested me, as 
I like to hear all the details of your business and operations. 
You find, as every body funis, building and improvement more 
expensive than you had expected. 

My health continues nearly stationary, not getting better nor 
worse, except in one particular, and that is sleep. Although I 
take an opiate every night, and lie in bed fourteen hours, I can 
get no sound, refreshing sleep. A man whose flesh, strength, 
appetite and sleep have been greatly reduced, must be in a bad 
way, but that is my condition. I have taken immense quanti- 
ties of drugs ; but with little if any effect on my cough, the 
disease which threatens me. I may linger on some months, but 
if there be no speedy improvement, I must finally sink under it. 

Give my love to dear Susan and all your children. I hope 
that she will continue to write to me. 



MR. CLAY TO DANIEL ULLMAN. 

Washington, March 18, 1852. 

My dear Sir, — I received your kind letter informing me of 
the loss of the medal. I am truly sorry for the occurrence, and the 
more so because I ought to have followed your directions to send 
it by Adams' Express. But Miss Lynch being in my room the 
evening before she started for the city of New York, and being 
informed that I was about to send the medal to you, she kindly 
offered to take charge of it, and I accordingly placed it under 
her care. I have no doubt she sutlers as much as any of us by 
its loss, and I would not say one word by way of reproach to 
her. I should be very sorry if any trouble or expense were 
taken in replacing it. The fact of its presentation, and even the 
representations upon the medal hi Q bO widely diffused as 

to render the presentation of it historical. You will recollect 
that I jocosely remarked while you wei that some Goth, 

when I was laid low in the grave, might be tempted to break 
off my nose and use the valuable metal which it contains! I 
did not then, however, anticipate the possibility of such an inci- 
dent occuring so quickly. 



630 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SOX JAMES. 

Washington, March 22, 1852. 

My dear Son, — I received your letter of the 8th. I was glad 
to receive your letter and to peruse all the details in it. 

My health continues without any material change. I am very 
weak, write with no comfort, sleep badly, and have very little 
appetite for my food. 

You must not mind what you see in the newspapers about 
me, such as that I was going to the Senate to make a speech, 
etc. Not a word of truth in it. 

My love to Susan and all the children. 



MR. CLAY TO MRS. THOMAS H. CLAY. 

Washington', April 7, 1852 

My dear Mary, — I received your letter of the 30th ultimo, 
and thank you for it. Your letters always give me satisfaction, 
as they go into details and tell me things which nobody else 
writes. The state of my health remains pretty much as it has 
been. But little sleep, appetite, or strength. 

If I am spared, and have strength to make the journey, I think 
of going home in May or early in June, and in that case I wish 
to send for Thomas to accompany me. 

I wish you would ask your mother to pay a small note of 
mine held by Ike Shelby. I have just heard to-day of the 
death of Mr. Jacobs. Poor Susan must be overwhelmed with 
grief. 

We have had no good weather yet. 

My love to Susan and the children. 



MR. CLAY TO HIS SON JAMES. 

Washington, April 10, 1852. 

My dear Son, — I have heard of the death of Mr. Jacobs, and 
I offer to you and to Susan assurances of my cordial condolence. 
Tell her that I hope she will bear the event with the fortitude 
of a Christian. My health continues very feeble, so much so that I 
write with no comfort or ease, as you may infer from this letter 



OF HKXIIY CLAY. 631 

being written by the pen of a friend. What will be the issue 
of my illness it is impossible to predict. My own opinion of the 
case is less favorable than that of my physicians. If my strength 
continues to fail me, I think I can not last a great while. I feel 

perfectly composed and r< sig 1 to my fate, whatever it maybe. 

Give my love to Susan and all your children. 



THOMAS II. CLAY TO JAMES B. CLAY. 

Washington, May 8, 1852. 

Dear James, — Summoned by a telegraphic dispatch of the 
27th ultimo, I arrived here on Tuesday evening last, the 5th 
instant. For forty-eight hours after my arrival, my father ap- 
peared better than he had been for a week previous. He is 
very feeble, and there is no longer any hope of his reaching 
Kentucky alive. 

Dr. Jackson thinks that there may be a termination of his 
case in a few hours, and it may be possible that he may live a 
week or ten days longer. He is greatly reduced in flesh ; the 
same cough yet continues to harass and weaken him, and he is 
now unable even to walk across the room. Yesterday evening, 
supported by a friend on each side, he was very near fainting. 
He has now to be carried from his bed to his couch. He can 
not talk five minutes in the course of the day without great 
exhaustion. 

He has directed me to say in answer to your letter of the 24th 
ultimo, that he is too weak to attend to the matter you write of 
with Corcoran and Riggs. 

He is calm and composed, and will meet the enemy without 
any fears of the result. The Sacrament was administered to 
him yesterday, by Mr. Butler, the Episcopalian chaplain of the 
Senate. Give my love to your wife and children. 



THOMAS H. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

Washington, May 8, 1852. 
My dear Mary, — Had you seen, as I have, the evidences of 
attachment and interest displayed by my father's friends for him, 
you could not well help exclaiming, as he has frequently done, 



132 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

; Was there ever man had such friends !" The first and best in 
he land are daily and hourly offering tokens of their love and 
steem for him. 



SIR WILLIAM CLAY TO MR. CLAY. 

No. 17 Hertford St., Mayfair, May 8, 1852. 

My dear Sir, — So many years have elapsed since the only 
titercourse I ever had the pleasure of holding with you — by let- 
ers and amity ceased — that I can hardly flatter myself yoa yet 
ecollect its occurrence. I could not, however, let my son pro- 
eed to the United States without giving him at least the chance 
»f becoming personally known to one who has so nobly illus- 
rated the name he himself bears. 

This letter, therefore, will be presented to you by my eldest 
on, William Dickinson Clay, who, with his friend Mr. Morris 
—a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford — is about to make the tour 
if the United States. 

I know not whether you and I shall ever meet. I have the 
irdent wish to visit America, but whether my public duties may 
>ermit of my gratifying that wish, while I have health and 
trength to enjoy the journey, is more than doubtful. 

Should that not occur, but should it so happen that either you 
>r any one in whom you take an interest visits England, you 
vill not, I hope, forget that you will afford me pleasure by show- 
ng that you perfectly rely on the friendly feeling with which I 
im, my dear sir, yours with great respect and regard. 



[Thomas H. Clay, Mr. Clay's second son, having been sum- 
noned to the bedside of his father, arrived in Washington early 
n May. It will have been seen by the correspondence, that 
VIr. Clay had, till this time, refused his consent for any member 
if the family to come on. From the time of Mr. Thomas H. 
Dlay's arrival till the death of his father, he wrote to some 
nember of the family, at home, every day. It is thought sufH- 
iient to present extracts from this diary, at intervals of about 
5vc days, which will be found in the following extracts :] 



OF HENRY CLAY. 633 



Washington- Cut, May 13, 1852. 

My father passed the last night comfortable without much 
coughing. The only thing the doctors can do, is to alleviate 
as much as they can the pain arising from his cough and his ex- 
cessive debility. 



May 18, 1852. 

My father has passed the last twenty-four hours much more 
comfortably than he had been for a week before. He has slept 
well and should he acquire strength with it, in spite of the predic- 
tions of the medical men, I shall begin to hope. It is the cough 
and that alone that has prostrated him ; once relieved from that, 
I know not what we may not hope for. There is yet more 
vitality in him, than the reports in the newspapers would lead 
one to infer. I will keep you all correctly informed. Believe 
nothing that you see or hear, except it comes from me. 



May 20, 1852. 

My father coughed but little last night, yesterday he was a 
good deal harassed. Could it be possible to remove his cough, 
he would get well beyond a doubt. He is very feeble, but 
is not so much reduced in flesh as I had supposed before I came 
on here. It is the cough as he himself has always said, that is 
killing him. His lungs are not at all affected. 

He insists on my writing to some of the family, either at 
Mansfield or Ashland, every day. I have but little to commu- 
nicate in addition to informing you how he passes the days and 
nights. 



May 26, 18 

My father passed a tolerable night; you must be aware that 
any improvement in his condition must be gradual, as the pros- 
tration he labors under came on in the same way. I have been 
nowhere, and made as few acquaintances as I could ; I am con- 
fined all day to his rooms, and last night was up until twelve 



634 PKIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

o'clock, as James appeared anxious to go out. I am doing every- 
thing that I c'in to render his situation as comfortable as possi- 
ible, allowing myself but little time even for a walk. 



June 1, 1852. 

My father listens attentively to the perusal of every letter 
from home. 

He passed last night in more comfort than he did the night 
before. He had some appetite for his dinner yesterday. 



One o'clock at night, June 4, 1852. 

I wrote you this morning that my father had a bad night, 
and that he was then trying to get some rest ; since I have been 
here, when he has passed a bad night, he was usually able to 
make up for the want of rest, during the following day. But 
such has not been the case to-day. He has coughed a great 
deal, and has had but little intermission from it. He took his 
opiate about two hours ago, and I hope that he will be enabled 
to get some sleep and rest in the next twenty-four hours. I 
shall keep my letter open to let you know how he is until to- 
morrow evening. He has suffered a good deal since this time 
last night. 



June 7, 1852. 

My father was yesterday much depressed. He had held a 
long conversation with Mr. Crittenden and requested me to treat 
him kindly. Besides a cold sweat after dinner, all these things 
were sufficient to make him feel low spirited. He told me that 
he thought there would soon be a termination to it. The doctor 



•O' 



thought on his afternoon visit that he was no worse than usual. 



'o 



God alone knows. 



Junk 9, 1852. 
My father has become feeble within a few days, and 1 do not 
think it possible for him to hold out long. 



OF HENRY CLAY. 635 

■h m: 16, 1852. 

My father is to-day decidedly worse than he has beeD since 
my arrival. I wrote to Mr. Theobald this morning thai there 
was but little or no change in his condition; since then, I am 
satisfied he is worse. He has had a copious perspiration, which 
has greatly weakened him. The attending physician, Dr. Hall, 
robbed him all over the person with brandy and alum. He told 
me this morning that he did not think he should last more than 
ten days. 

I have been constant in my attendance on him. I think I 
can see a marked change in his countenance. 



June 20, 1852. 
My father did not pass a good night, nor has he slept much 
this morning. A friend yesterday afternoon brought him thre< 
woodcocks; he ate a little of one of them this morning. He 
never now gets out of bed. He is moved occasionally from one 
bed to the other, for the purpose of ventilating and making up. 
He was too feeble this morning to carry a glass of water to his 
lips. The weather has been very hot during the week, the 
mercury rising at one time to 93°. 



June 25, 1852. 

I now look for a termination in my father's case before many 
hours. I do not feel in any mood to write to any one but you, 
my wife. Judge Underwood coincides with me in opinion that 
he will not last many hours. The next you receive from me 
will probably be a telegraphic dispatch, directed to Mr. Harrison. 



Jokb 29, U 

I had never before imagined that any one could live in the 
extreme state of debility under which my father is now suffering. 
The act of taking even a single swallow of water is painful to 
him, on account of his great feebleness. He has eaten nothing of 



636 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE 

any consequence (only a few mouthfuls of soup) for five or six 
days. I can not believe he can possibly survive through the 
week. 



Lexington, June 29, 1852. 
The following message was received at this office to-day, 
dated Washington, 29th, 1852, twelve o'clock ; 

J. O. Harrison — 

My father is no more. He has passed without pain 

into eternity. 

Thos. H. Clay. 



MR. THOMAS II. CLAY TO HIS WIFE. 

City of Washington, June 29, 1852. 

My dear Mary, — Shortly after I wrote to you this morning, 1 
was summoned by James to my father's bedside. " Sit near 
me, my dear son," he said ; " I do not wish you to leave me for 
any time to-day." In about an hour after, he said, " Give me 
some water." I gave him about half a glassful, which he drank, 
and still retained the tube in his mouth. In a few moments he 
released the tube, and said, " I believe, my son, I am going." 
Five minutes after, he told me " to button his shirt collar," which 
I did. He then caught my hand, and retained it in his pressure 
for some time. When he relinquished it, I discovered he was 
dying. I summoned Governor Jones, of Tennessee, who occu- 
pied the room above him, and in five or ten minutes after he had 
ceased to breathe. 

May my mother, and all of you, be prepared for it. A nation 
mourns, but it is his gain. He is free from pain, and I thank 
God. Oh ! how sickening is the splendid pageantry I have to 
go through from this to Lexington. 

My love to all. 

My father died at seventeen minutes past eleven. I telegraphed 
Mr. Harrison at twelve a. m. 



ALPHABETICAL INMX. 



Adair, John, to Mr. Olay, 1 1. 
Adams, Charles P., to Mr. Clay. 561. 
Adams, •'. Q., to Ministei - al • rhent, 45. 
to Mr. Clay, L29, 1 19, 226, 
229, 'JIT. 311, 481, 620. 
Allibone, Susan, to Mr. Clay, 677. 
Ashburton, Lord, to Mr. Clay, -160. 

BATRD, T. H., to Mr. Clay, 497. 
Baldwin, Judge, to Mr. Clay, 4 15. 
Barbour, B. J., to Mr. Clay, 522. 
Barbour. James, to Mr. Clay, 190, 328, 

397. 
Barbour, P. P., to Mr. Clay, 84. 
Barbour. Mr. (confidential), to Mr. Clay, 

172. 17::. 
Bard, Rev. faaac, to Mr. Clay, 199. 
Barger, Rev. John S., to Mr. Clay, 250. 
Barn; ral, to Mr. Clay, 306. 

Bayard, Mr. (Minister at Ghent), to Mr. 

Clay, 28. 
Beal I m, to Mr. Clay. 517. 

trand, I ri n< ral, to Mr. Clay, -177. 
Bexley, Lord, to Mr. Clay, 138. 
Biddle, Nicholas, to Mr.* Clay, 2S7, 341, 

351, 356, 386. 
Blank to Mr. Clay, 182. 
Blank to Judge Brooke, 104. 
Bodisco, Mr., to Mr. Clay, 474. 

ke, Francis, I • Mr." Clay, 196, 222, 

229, 335. 
Brown, J • Mr. Clay, 10, 12, 16, 

126, 129, 221, 245, 343. 
.;,, John, to Mr. C 
Browning, R. S., to U 
Buchanan, James, to It. P. Letcher 
Burr, Aaron, t i Mr. Clay, 13. 11. 

Clay, Mr., to Adair, John, 11. 
to Adams, J. Q., 171. 
" to Allibone, S. A., 007, 620, 
625. 
to Allibone. 
" to Babcock, James !•'.. •■ 
51 I. 
to Bailhache, John, i 
" to Beatty, Adam, 16, 11 

61, 210, 2 14, 235, 
237, 240 . 
30! 
" to Blair, Franc . P., I"''. 111. 
" to Booth, W. A- 525, 531. 



, Mr., to Britton, N". I 

to 1 9, 1 7. 5 I, 

7o. 7 1,7 1.-. 

88. ' • 13 106, 107, 

111, 113, 1 1 1. 119, 121, 

126, 127. 134, 

148. 152, 153, 156, 168, 

15 I, 162, H 178, 

183, is:,, i 

232, -12. 256 

270, 2 

302. 303, 305, 309, 3] 1. 

321, 322, 32 
331, 341, 

346, 347, 348, 349, 

376, 377, 381, 382, 110, 

412. I. 

440, 446, I 17. 454 

456 
" toCarr, John, 521. 
" to Cl ■■: .i. ■ , r... ii i, U9, 

420, 421, 124, 426, 

590, 691, 595, 601, 

613, 
616, 627, 62 
" to Clay, Mrs. (Mr.Chv 

" to Clay, ' 

" to < Mrs, Thomas II.. 

" tot" i ma B 

I 

to Colton, Calvin. 476, 181, 
494, 621, 530, 

" to I ill 

11 • 12, III. 

W. II., : 

■• 

to ] " 7 - 

!! 

to G 

• • • . 

to n 



638 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



Clav, Mr., to Harlan. James. 565, 571. 583, 

586, 5S!), 599, G03, 605. 

" to Harrison, l 175, 452. 

" to Johnston, Hon. J. S., 9 I. 95, 

97, 98, 100, 103,104, 1 17. 

1 18, 160, 169, 177. 184, 

204, 226, 238, 240, 243, 

245, 249, 251, 254, 

256, 264, 267, 268, 286, 

2SS, 306, 353. 

to Littell, John S., 267, 473. 

482, 536. 
to Lloyd, II. T., 175. 
" to Lynch, James, and others, 

' 575. 
" to Madison, .Tame?, 53. 
" to Miller, S. H., 490. 
" to Muir, S., 530. 
" to Niles, IL, 213. 
'' Note, Diplomatic, by Mr. Clay, 

42. 
" to Pendleton, Rev. J. M., 509. 

to Pindell, R., 206. 
" to Prentice, G. D., 41S. 
" to Prentis, Thomas M„ 1 !. 
" to Randolph, Thomas M., 174. 
'' to Rutgers, Colonel, I 
" lyres, Rev. Gilbert IL. 159. 

" to S a, Thomas B., 

" toTowler, Miss. 543. 
" to Ullmann, Daniel. 474, 540, 
543, 574, GOO, 617. 620. 
" to Welch,' Rev. James E., 259. 
to White, Eenry, 484, 494 
561, 573, 
" to Whit" (Henry), and others. 

484, 5:52. " 
" to Woodward. W. S., 523. 

" to , 293, 392. 

Carter, Beverly, to Mr. Clay, 459. 

I wis, to Mr. Clay, 123. 
Chase, Bishop, to Mr. Clay, 96. 
Chev don, to Mr. Clay, 18, 66. 

Clay, Eenry. Jr.. to his father, 160, 166, 
21 !, 218, 233, 241, 280, 292. 303, 327, 
33 », 343, 352, 373, 400, (to James B. 
Clay). 536. 
Clay, .lames B., to his father, 607. 
Clay, Mrs., to Mr. Clay. 2 1. 

. Porter, to Mr. Clay, 159. 
Clay, Sir William, to Mr. Clay, 409. 
Clay, Theodore Wythe, to his Father, 130. 
Thomas E., to James B. Clay, 631. 
! II., to his wife, 631, 6113, 

634, 63:.. 636. 
Clayton, John M., to Mr. Clay, 350. 
Coffin, Alexander, to Mr. Clav. 
Colombia, Republic of, to Mr. Clay. 76, 77. 
College, Washington, Students, to Mr. 

. 390. 
Combs, Leslie, to Mr. Clay, 325. 
Cooke, Eleuth, to Mr. Clay, 387. 
Cortes, Eugenio, to Mr. Clay, 65. 
Crawford, William 11., to Mr. Clay, 25, 33, 

39, 40, -12. 191, 27::. 
Creighton, W., to Mr. Clay, 118. 



Crittenden, J. J., to Mr. Clav, 117, 214, 
498. 

Davis. John, to Mr. Clay, 480. 
Dean, Nicholas, to .Mr. Clay, 545. 
Dearborn, Gen raJ, to Mr. Clav. 310. 
Duralde, William, to Mr. Clay, 255. 

EEWIN, Anne D., to her father, 269, 320, 

323. 316. 
Erwin, Mr., to Mr. Clay, 401. 

Featherstonhaugh, G. W.. to Mr. Clay, 

265. 
Fillmore, Millard, to Mr. Clay, 497. 
Fox, Mr. (British Minister), to Mr. Clay, 

412, 444. 
Frelinghuysen, T., to Mr. Clav, 487, 495, 

625. 

Galpin, P. S., and others, to Mr. Clay, 

Gallatin, Albert, to Mr. Clay, 30, 131. 161. 
Gambier, Lord, to Mr. Clay, 53, 95, 150. 
Gold I'm to Mr. Clay. 529. 
Goulburu, Henry, to Mr. Clay. 51. 
Graham. David, to Mr. Clay. 562. 
Granger, A. P., and others, to Mr. Clay, 

468. 
Gual, P.. to Mr. Clay, 213. 

HALL, Willis, to Mr. Clav. 4 31. 563. 
Hammond. C, to Mr. Clay, 443. 
Eampi in, Col. W., to Mr. Clay, 454. 
Harrison. William Henry, to Mr. Clay, 20, 

22, 258, -1 16. 
Hart. 11. T.. to Mr. Clav. 581. 
Hawley, Rev. William, to Mr. Clay, 251. 
Henrv," Patrick, to Mr. Clay, 67. 326. 
i V, President, to Mr. Clay. 1-24. 
norton, Howard, to Mr. Clay, 321. 
Howard. Joseph, to Mr. Clav, 325. 

. Philip, to Mr. Clav, 507. 
Hughes, Christopher, 46, (to Mr. Clay,) 503. 

iTur.MDE to Mr. Clay, 64. 

■Taxi: art, A. M., to Mr. Clav, 470. 

. S. Caroline, to Mr. Clay. 395,404. 
Jesup, ' r< in ral, to Mr. Clav. 1 15. 

to James !>. Clay, 146. 
Johnson, R. M., to Mr. Clav. 6 1. 

rdy, to Mr. Clav, :: 19. 
John-ton. J. S., to Mr. Clay, 99, 102, 103, 

■ 8 5 
J. W.P., to Mr. Clay, 363. 

Kent, Chancellor, to Mr. Clay, 387, 411. 
-. D., and others, to Mr. Clay, 602. 
Cirkland, President, to Mr. Clay, 127. 
Krudener, Baron De, to Mr. Clay, 281. 

LADY to .Mr. Clav, 460. 

Lafayette to Mr. Clav, 57, G2, 67, 83, 130, 

131. 135. 137, 139, 140, 141, 152. 454, 

155, 108, 130, 208, 223. 






ALPHABETICAL In: 



0:39 



Eafaj 

Lav. ,7. 

n oc ■. John I... to Mi 

y, C. !.. I... i i Mr. Clay, I 

ml Henry, lo Mr. Clay, 21! 
!. • 

i. li. \\\. to Mr. Clay, 69, 
i i:. I'., to Mr. Clay, 171, 191. 

Lewis, William D., t'> Mr. Clay, .".10. 
1. iber, Francis, u> Mr. Clay, . 
Lite lin, i" Mr. Clay, 1 ■:. 

' I 
Madison, • i Mr. CI ',100. 

L88, 284, 32 l 10G. 

M :U iry, 1'.. to Mr. CI 

m De, t" Mr. Clay, 1GG. 
Marshall Chief Justice, to Mr. Clay, 121, 

L88, 212. :;:::». 352. 
Martin, an. Harriet, to Mr. Clay, 390, 40G, 
413. 

: iglitcr of, to Mr. Clay, 
340. 
Matthew, Father, to M 624. 

McDuffi ■. G .vcrnor, to I I v. -\n?>. 
McLain, William, to Mr. Clay. 
McLean, Ju Ige, to M 556. 

Dr., to Mr il3, 527. 

Monroe, James, to Mr. Clay, 19, i- 

Morpeth, Lord, to Mr. Clay, 471, 535. 

Nitchie, .Tuhn, to Mr. Clay, 3 

Otis, Harrison Grey, to Mr. Clay, 323, 
370, 433, 437. 

PETTir.nr.r. V... to Mr. Clay, 518. 
Pickering, Timothy. I y, 319. 

Porter, Pel r B., to Mr. I 

205, -JTO, •2<\. us, 450, 452, I 
Preston, William, aud others, to Mr. 

■a, William C, to Mr. Clay, 460, 503, 
550. 



• 1 7 1. 
• M. Del, t>> Mr. I 
. W. I!. tO Mr. i 
LB » Mr. ( 

• ■ 

, M ■ ". • at I 

.. 31, 32, ::7. 

Uexis Do, to Mr. Clay, 211 

.1, to Mr. TO. 

Sibley, John, I 

ine, .1.. to Mr. ( Mi. 189. 

South I 1.., t i ."! • . 1G8, 

:; 1 1. 

Vnibroso, to Mr. < 
12, 501. 
Pe 
Story, Ju<; . . Clay, 1 

ter, P. 11., and others, to Mr. Clay, 
50G. 

T.4.TLOH, General, to Mr. Clav, 5 is, 550, 
557, 5S0. 

,11, Mr., to Mr. Clay. 
Thompson, J • -,-,526. 

Todd, a S., to Mr. Clay. 77. 
Tuck ry, 105. 

Tyler, John, to Mr. (.'lay, l"l9. 

Van Bd ■■:•.. Martin, I 

Vaughan, Mr. [British Minister), to Mr. 

Clay. hi". 248, 2 
Vaughan, Thoma3, to Mr. Clay, 50. 

Wvtkiks, Elizabeth, to her son, Mr. 

177. 
Webster, Dani 22, 128, 

1 13, 1".". 156, 167, 170, 204, 205, 

27 I, ::i7. 3 
Wesl '!.. t > Mr. Clay, 509. 

. K. C, to Mr. i 'lav. Tin. ' 
Wright, J. C, to Mr. Clay, 492, 193. 



